The problem of polluted air is not a problem that appeared recently, and its solution requires the cooperation of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, local governments and all other relevant institutions.

One of the main topics of the conference was the Annual Report on the State of Air Quality in the Republic of Serbia for 2022, published by the Environmental Protection Agency, based on which we only learned in October what we breathed in 2022. Milenko Jovanović (National Environmental Association - NEA) referred to the delay in the publication of the Annual Report on the State of Air Quality in the Republic of Serbia for 2022 and asked why the Report is not published at the end of the current year to which the Report refers. Milenko Jovanović also referred to the data of the World Health Organization that in Serbia annually over 15,000 people lose their lives prematurely due to air pollution.

Branislava Matić (Institute of Public Health of Serbia - Batut) drew attention to the fact that local public health institutes do not receive data on the state of air quality, because in tenders for obtaining financial resources for carrying out measurements, these funds are received by private laboratories, which to a large extent do not respect law and do not share data with local institutes or Batuta. Branislava Matić also pointed out that in addition to ambient air pollution, there is also a health hazard for citizens and pollution from individual fireplaces in closed spaces.

The most significant sources of pollution are individual combustion plants, industrial pollution/pollution emitted by thermal power plants, traffic, waste. Damir Dizdarević from the Belgrade Open School referred to the high level of pollution emitted by individual fireplaces and pointed out that the main culprit for such pollution is the energy poverty that most citizens face, given that local governments do not provide sufficient support when it comes to investing in replacing the combustion chamber and improving the energy efficiency of buildings.

Ivaylo Popov from the Bulgarian organization Za Zemiata (For the Earth) presented a presentation on the impact of nitrogen dioxide on human health and shared good experiences from citizen monitoring of air quality.

The day before, the Belgrade Open School gathered over 40 individuals from the air monitoring network in areas across Serbia to share experiences in the fight for clean air and present the results of their work so far. Activists received guidelines on how to design and improve their advocacy initiatives, and based on the discussion, the main conclusions and priorities of the activist network for the next period were defined.

Activists were presented with a new generation air quality measurement sensor that will be installed in cities and municipalities where official air quality monitoring has not been established. As part of the Together for the Environment project, it is planned to distribute a total of 200 new sensors in the coming period, as well as to expand the network of activists with whom the Belgrade Open School will cooperate.

The training for activists and the conference "Hold your breath!" was carried out with the financial support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and as part of the project Local Actors for Clean Energy and Air, which is supported by the European Climate Foundation.

You can view the photo gallery from the event HERE.

Authors of the photos: Zorica Popović and Bogdan Bogdanović.