During March, the Energy Community Secretariat initiated preliminary proceedings against contracting parties that did not comply with the implementation of their National Emission Reduction Plans (NERP).
This applies to four Western Balkan actors: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The reason for initiating these proceedings are violations of regulations from the NERP in the period 2018 and 2019.
During the mentioned years, thermal power plants in Serbia emitted up to six times more CO2 emissions than the allowed emission limit values at the national level prescribed by the NERP, Nenad Spasojevic reports.
This is not the first time that a procedure has been initiated against Serbia by the mentioned Secretariat. Thus, at the beginning of last year, a procedure was initiated for the same reason, since 9 out of 16 large fireboxes had violations of the allowed annual emissions of harmful gases.
How many overdrafts were there in 2018 and 2019?
According to the data for 2018 and 2019, due to which the Secretariat initiated the procedure, the shows were really out of the allowed.
During 2018, there was an excess when it comes to powdery substances (PM), but quantitatively speaking, there were far more excessive CO2 emissions. Thus, instead of the allowed almost 55,000 tons of SO2 per year, in 2018, six times more were emitted than allowed. This data is very worrying considering that it is not a small deviation, but the shows have been largely exceeded and the question is whether they will be lowered to an acceptable level in the near future.
The situation was somewhat better during 2019, but that was not enough, because a procedure was initiated against Serbia due to these violations. Namely, although there has been a drop below the permitted limits when it comes to powdery substances, Serbia still has major problems with CO2 emissions. Thus, during 2019, there was a reduction in emissions compared to 2018 by slightly more than 30,000 tons of CO2, but that is still than allowed.
It is interesting to point out that for both years there was a harmonized emission when it comes to the amount of total NOx emissions.
What does the initiated procedure mean in the case of Serbia?
The actions that have been initiated against Serbia so far have the goal of warning and warning that the application of what Serbia has committed itself to with its membership in the EC has not been respected.
Serbia, as well as other members, according to the Treaty establishing the EC, in the case of more serious and permanent violations of its commitments, will mostly receive the most suspensions of voting rights.
This further means that from these processes, Serbia is given only a warning and a warning to return to fulfilling its obligations. In the long run, if Serbia continued to violate its obligations, it would primarily mean jeopardizing its goals of energy transition and solving the problem of excessive air pollution.
As a last resort, the Energy Community can suspend certain membership rights or impose sanctions on Serbia, as has been the case with Bosnia and Herzegovina since this winter. The reason for these sanctions against BiH are the consequence of serious and permanent omissions in the work of the competent authorities when it comes to adoption, and the application of regulations is in question.
What is the National Emission Reduction Plan (NERP)?
When it is said that there has been disrespect for the NERP, it is also important to explain what this document actually represents and means. By signing the Treaty establishing the Energy Community in 2005, by which it joined the EC, Serbia has committed itself to adopting and implementing a number of legal documents.
One of the biggest obligations is that Serbia will start implementing the Directive on large fireplaces from 2018. This, as they call it the Mother Directive, is a challenge for every country, and especially for those who have the obligation to reduce emissions from thermal power plants, which is the situation in the case of Serbia.
In line with the high standards set by the Large Combustion Plants Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive, the EC has given the possibility of gradual adoption of the prescribed standards in order to facilitate the transition period. Thus, the Large Combustion Plant Directive provides for an opt-out mechanism or the possibility of limited lifetime derogation of power plants, Danas reports.
