105 - News Single | AMMK
Kosovo must take measures to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change
12 March 2012
12.03.2012 - The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency in Kosovo (AMMK), Dr. Sci Ilir Morina, has called for the swift adoption of measures to protect the environment in relation to climate change. During a presentation at the conference Energy Security in Times of Climate Change - the situation in Kosovo and the Western Balkans region, organized by the German foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Kosovo Renewable Energy Association, Dr. Sci Ilir Morina stated that in our country, it is required of all institutional actors, public enterprises, and those from the private sector to jointly contribute to environmental protection, with particular emphasis on reducing greenhouse gases.
In the context of his report entitled 'The Current Position of Kosovo in Facing Climate Change,' he called for the implementation of several rapid measures that would directly impact the reduction of air pollution levels in our country and the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need to prevent this situation by renovating and later decommissioning Power Plant A, maintaining and increasing efficiency at Power Plant B, raising the level of implementation of legal and sub-legal acts that control the release of gases from light and heavy vehicles, establishing self-monitoring air quality systems, preventing uncontrolled burning of waste such as tires, plastic, and various types of waste, motor oils, etc., said the Chief Executive Officer of the AMMK.
He also said that the Polluter Pays principle (Ecofund) and the Packaging Fund should be implemented, which unfortunately has not yet been approved in our country even after five years. Dr. Sci. Ilir Morina, within the framework of these urgent measures that need to be taken in Kosovo to mitigate climate change, also emphasized the need to make the greatest possible use of renewable energy sources, as well as the use of raw materials - especially organic waste. Meanwhile, Dr. Morina also called for measures from local institutions to build capacities for clean energy sources and to undertake measures for raising awareness among the citizens of Kosovo, which would impact the improvement of the behavior of local consumers towards energy.