Air pollution in Serbia is 20 times higher than in the countries of the European Union, and revenues from eco-taxes and fees are insufficiently invested in solving the problem, the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) announced.
In order to encourage companies to reduce their negative impact, NALED proposes the introduction of higher fees for major polluters, expanding the coverage of taxable harmful gases and changing the incentive system.
The recommendations are part of the new Analysis of the success of fiscal instruments in reducing pollution, and the full implementation of which would provide an additional 18.5 million euros in the budget for investments in environmental protection, the statement said.
“In 2015, the income from the fee for emissions amounted to 25 million euros, while in 2019 this amount increased by 105 percent and amounted to 53 million euros. However, the fixed amounts of fees for protection and improvement of the environment do not encourage companies to reduce emissions of harmful substances, and they are not proportional to the amount of pollution,” says the president of the Association for Environmental Protection in NALED, Jelena Kis.
Kis adds that currently, even those who do not do any damage are charged a minimum fee of 40 euros, while large polluters pay little compared to the actual amounts of pollution they create. That is why it is important to implement the full application of the “polluter pays” principle, ie that the costs are borne by the one who made them.
According to the results of the analysis, apart from the production of electricity, a large part of the illicit particles come from individual and other combustion plants.
Although households are the main cause of the excessive increase in PM10 particles, they are not subject to any control, and the heating devices they use are sold freely on the market without respecting environmental standards.
The recommendation is therefore to increase the price of coal, in order to encourage citizens to switch to more sustainable energy sources.
According to the authors of the analysis, it is necessary to introduce the road transport sector in the system of payment of fees. The tax on the use of motor vehicles does not encourage the innovation of the vehicle fleet, because it is lower for older cars. According to the Ministry of the Interior, more than half of the vehicles have old engines, the import of which is banned in the EU and the region, and it is recommended that this be done in Serbia as well, as well as increase taxes on Euro 3 and older engines and reduce them for newer ones.
The total investment in cleaner air, which needs to be provided, is estimated at around 2.3 billion euros, which is why a sustainable financing system is necessary, which will be based on the “polluter pays” principle
In order for environmental taxes and fees not to represent only an additional financial burden on the economy and citizens, which does not lead to changes in behavior, it is important to design a support system for the transition to cleaner alternatives in the form of subsidies and other incentives, Nova Ekonomija reports.
