Shukova: International and regional cooperation is key in reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change
As part of the ministerial panel on the topic: “Developing a joint approach to air quality management and climate change mitigation in the Western Balkans”, which was held on the first day of the Sustainable Development Week in Priština, Republic of Kosovo, the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Kaja Shukova emphasized that international and regional cooperation is key in reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change and that we must apply an integrated approach to this problem.
“Exchange of positive experiences between the countries of the region will help us overcome environmental challenges because air, water, and climate do not recognize borders”, emphasized Shukova.
She also said that by signing the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda, the countries of the Western Balkans, including the Republic of North Macedonia, committed to work together to finalize the process of ratification of the Convention on Long-Term Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), as well as to develop and implement strategies for air quality and to establish an appropriate system for monitoring air quality.
“The countries of the Western Balkans must jointly work towards achieving the 2050 goal of a carbon-neutral continent together with the EU by creating and implementing an ambitious climate policy and reforming the energy and transport sectors as key sources of air pollution and greenhouse gases, whose influence is felt both locally and nationally, regionally and globally”- said Shukova.
The common view was that the exchange of positive experiences and practices between countries in the region is needed in the direction of faster and more efficient fulfillment of the set climate goals and environmental goals in general.
In this session, as part of the activities of the first part of the Sustainable Development Week dedicated to “Connecting the countries of the Western Balkans for the transition to sustainable and resilient growth”, in addition to Shukova, the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning of Kosovo, Liburn Aliu, the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Albania, Mirela Kumbaro, and the Director of the Directorate for Climate Actions in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia, Dunja Drvar, also participated.