Regional Note on Air Quality Management in the Western Balkans : Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia
Ambient air pollution (AAP) is a serious global health problem that accounts for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. People in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans are frequently exposed to air pollution levels above tho...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/330811585586168639/Regional-Note-on-Air-Quality-Management-in-the-Western-Balkans-Bosnia-and-Herzegovina-Kosovo-and-North-Macedonia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33557 |
| Summary: | Ambient air pollution (AAP) is a serious
global health problem that accounts for an estimated 4.2
million premature deaths worldwide per year. People in
Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans are frequently
exposed to air pollution levels above those considered safe,
particularly in the winter. The increased exposure to air
pollution and its linkage to higher prevalence of lung,
respiratory, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
is also likely to increase the vulnerability of the affected
population to the currently emerging COVID19 pandemic. In
the Western Balkans, the residential sector is the largest
source of harmful PM2.5 emissions. While not yet the
dominant source of air pollution in the Western Balkans,
transport-based emissions are gaining in prominence and in
contrast to heating represent a year-round growing
environmental challenge. The EU accession process provides
an incentive to improve air quality in the Western Balkans
by adapting legislation and learning from the experience of
other EU countries. In addition to strengthening the legal
and policy framework for air quality management (AQM) at the
national level, it is important to develop subnational
solutions, particularly for urban pollution hot spots. By
acting on air pollution reduction, countries prepare the
grounds for the long-term transition to a low-carbon economy
and climate change mitigation, yet the synergies and
trade-offs have to be carefully evaluated and understood. |
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