Greens: Environmental protection also brings investment

BELGRADE - The Greens of Serbia voiced concern over the lack of environmental policy in the expose of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and noted that renewables are the only way toward Serbia's sustainable energy security, and that the establishment of an environment ministry would create 10,000 jobs and bring big investments.

In a release distributed to the media, the Greens underlined that environmental protection is not an expense, and that without clean air, water and soil, there is no strong economy, "as pollution costs, and is paid with money and the most treasured thing- health".

As they explained, coal ash from thermal power plants could be used as a material in the construction industry and road construction, and waste in land-fills and illegal dump sites could also be utilized in some way.

The Greens stressed that, in his four-year program, the Serbian prime minister did not mention the bad state of environment in a single sentence, or what would be the steps needed for establishing a responsible and efficient system in this field.

Ecological fees are not spent for the right purpose, and are not collected in real volume, and Serbia thus loses EUR 30 million, they noted.

"The closing of the Chemicals Agency means that 30,000 hazardous and biocidal chemicals are not controlled, which leads to mass perishing of plants and animals. Serbia must harmonize its legislation with over 700 regulations from the field of environment with the European Union, which accounts for one third of all regulations in the accession process," the Greens noted.

The Greens called for prevention of environmental catastrophes, such were the ones in Uzice, Obrenovac, Zajaca, Pancevo, and mass death of plants and...