A special event with Misha Glenny, the Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences - IWM in Vienna, and Ivan Vejvoda, the Permanent Fellow of IWM, was organised in Dom Omladine in Belgrade to mark the 30th anniversary of the Belgrade Open School. The two prominent guests spoke about the region’s recent past and its European perspectives, about the challenges that the European Union has been facing and about the prospects of liberal democracy. The well-attended event gathered alumnae, alumni and alums of the Belgrade Open School, and prominent members of civil society, academia, cultural life, and the diplomatic corps. The event was moderated by Slobodan G. Markovich, Professor at the University of Belgrade, and the President of the Steering Committee of the Belgrade Open School.
Serbia cancels construction of new coal power plant
May 27, 2021
Serbia appears to have finally committed to exiting coal.
Workers and miners at the Thermal Power Plant Nikola Tesla (TENT) and the Kolubara mine in central Serbia this week held a “warning protest” over a supposed letter in which the country’s ministry of mining and energy instructed the state-owned EPS power company (Elektroprivreda Srbije) to halt construction of the planned Kolubara B coal power plant.
Construction on the Kolubara B plant, an addition to the already existing lignite Kolubara plant, began in the 1980s but was halted in 1992. In 2012, the project was resurrected again when the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) briefly considered financing it. Then, in 2020, a preliminary agreement was signed with PowerChina but no permits have been issued yet.
Serbia has been accused of manipulating data in a bid to play down its air pollution problem.
A few months earlier, a real-time worldwide ranking put the capital Belgrade in the world s worst top five cities for PM 2.5 air pollution.
Now, say activists, the new government (elections were held last June) is doing everything it can to downplay the issue.
Pollution chief sacked after data spat
In December, Milenko Jovanovic was fired as head of the air quality department at the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).
The official reason for sacking him after 17 years of service was because he opposed his superiors and Serbia s air quality monitoring stations were not properly maintained. Jovanovic and other experts say the latter claim is untrue.
Serbia to spend EUR 1 million on subsidies for electric, hybrid vehicles balkangreenenergynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from balkangreenenergynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.