The legislation in force for the protection of air from pollution foresees that the local government also drafts the action plan for air quality. But until now very few municipalities in Kosovo have drawn up this public policy.

The report on the fulfillment of the obligations of the municipalities from the European Agenda for the period January - June 2021 published by the Ministry of Local Government Administration informs that only one of the 38 municipalities has drawn up the local action plan for air quality. "Drafting the Air Quality Action Plan remains a significant challenge for municipalities where only 1 municipality (Gllogoc) has drafted this plan", this report states.

According to the Law on the protection of air from pollution (No. 03/L-160), the municipalities have the task of drafting these plans as well as reporting on their implementation. In Article 31, of this law, it is stated that local action plans for air quality define the policy, air quality management for the five-year period and actions within the territory of the municipality, in harmony with the Air Quality Strategy. It also writes that these plans are an integral part of local plans for the environment. "The report on the implementation of the plan is reviewed by the Municipal Assemblies", it is stated in paragraph 3 of this article.

The 2020 European Commission report on Kosovo has concluded that air quality continues to pose a major threat to the health of Kosovo citizens. "The authorities have failed to adopt and implement measures to improve it, especially through the emissions reduction plan. The air quality strategy has not yet been implemented. Uncontrolled pollution, especially from outdated power plants, the central heating system, traffic, industrial emissions and the burning of waste and other toxic materials requires urgent measures. Measures to enforce the ban on coal for heating are not effective and subsidies should be provided for other forms of heating. Air quality plans have not yet been prepared for areas in which pollutant levels significantly exceed the limit values", this report states, while progress in real-time air quality monitoring is evidenced.

While the annual report on the state of the air in 2020, published by the Environmental Protection Agency of Kosovo, has made it known that the state of the air, despite the trend of improvement in terms of polluting parameters, still shows a bad state in terms of quality. According to this report, the main sources of air pollution for the year 2020 in the territory of Kosovo are the existing ones that were also mentioned in previous reports such as: Kosova A and Kosova B power plants; small burns (households, bakeries, restaurants, etc.); industrial operators and other economic operators (businesses); road transport; urban waste dumps; agriculture; stone breakers. "In 2020, as in previous years, the autumn-winter seasons have resulted in higher pollution compared to other seasons of the year. This elevated level of pollutant values in the air is the result of industrial burning, burning of fossil fuel for household burning purposes, transport, etc. In this season, the meteorological conditions greatly affect the quality of the air due to the humidity of the air, atmospheric precipitation, fogs, etc., says the report.

With local legislation, the Ministry is responsible for air quality management in the entire territory of the Republic of Kosovo. Meanwhile, as part of the general program for environmental protection, the Law on Protection of Air from Pollution also initiates the preparation of the Strategy and Action Plan for Air Quality, and then the local programs for air protection are drawn up within their Municipal Development Plans. At the same time, the measures and actions defined in the Air Quality Strategy represent an obligation for all sectors to carry out actions towards achieving the objectives for air quality. Municipalities are among these institutional stakeholders. In the aforementioned Strategy, it is emphasized that municipalities adopt Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) and programs for environmental protection, in accordance with the SMM and the Kosovo Environmental Action Plan according to its specific interests, with the involvement of the public, and that they report Ministry for the implementation of these plans and programs.

From the assessment of the data on the state of the air during 2020, AMMK has listed the recommendations that will affect the improvement of air quality, such as the implementation of legislation for air protection; the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan for Air Quality; the drafting of Local Environmental Action Plans in all municipalities; etc.

Taking the above facts as a base, the municipal authorities that will take office after the municipal elections on October 17th must engage with greater seriousness to fulfill their obligations towards improving air quality, starting with the drafting of local action plan for air quality.