Government of Serbia to replace polluting heating boilers

The Government of Serbia’s working group for air quality improvement proposed that within two years, if connection to district heating or a gas line is technically feasible, all heating boilers in public institutions should be shut down.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabić chaired the meeting of the cabinet’s workgroup for a systematic solution for the air protection issue in Serbia. The problem of air pollution has been classified into four basic segments: individual heating furnaces and boilers, transportation, energy efficiency and agricultural sources, the announcement said.

The body determined the forthcoming steps regarding the afforestation of lower-quality agricultural land in on the territory of ten local authorities, including Belgrade, Niš and Kragujevac, with among the highest rates of air pollution with particulate matter – PM particles, the government added. Brnabić pointed out that it is necessary to determine the additional effects of more intensive afforestation and underscored that there are already concrete results, but that the intention is to do much more.

Much more will be done regarding afforestation, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić promised

Members of the working group agreed that within two years, if connection to district heating or a gas line is technically feasible, all heating boilers and furnaces in public institutions should be shut down.

The prime minister said citizens of Serbia aren’t informed enough that the government acknowledges the issue, that it works on it intensively and that soon the action plan would be presented which accompanies the Air Protection Program for the Republic of Serbia for the period 2022-2030.

The government will soon present the action plan accompanying the national Air Protection Program

The members of the workgroup noted that one of the solutions for households is to subsidize switching to environmentally friendly heating technologies. When it comes to reducing pollution that comes from transportation, ten more electric car chargers will be installed on highways this year, the statement reads.

Intensive efforts will be made to make it financially easier for all citizens to switch to energy sources that don’t pollute air, according to the conclusions from the meeting.