As world leaders pledge to end coal, Serbia lets polluters continue illegal operations, 5 November 2021

The Serbian parliament is expected to allow top polluters, including its antiquated fleet of coal power plants, to operate without environmental permits for three more years, under amendments to legislation set to be adopted on Tuesday, 9 November.

Of the 227 facilities listed by the Ministry for Environmental Protection, only 46 have obtained permits since the Law entered into force in 2004. That means, no fewer than 181 facilities are operating without environmental permits, ie. illegally.

This includes many of Serbia’s largest polluters, including all the coal power plants operated by state-owned utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), the mining complex in Bor operated by Zijin Bor Copper doo, as well as the iron factory complex operated by HBIS Group Serbia.

Permits are vital to make sure toxic chemicals from industrial operations are capped. Plants operating without them put people and nature in serious and continuous danger...

“The timing could hardly have been more ironic,” said Jovan Rajić from RERI [the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute]. “At least 23 new countries have pledged to phase out coal power this week at COP26 (2) but the Serbian government is handing out new privileges to polluters.”

Serbia’s coal plants are among the most deadly in Europe, pumping out more sulphur dioxide than all the 221 coal power plants in the EU put together...