German Ammbsandor is shocked at how much garbage in Kosovo

Germany's Ambassador to Pristina, Christian Heldt, has expressed shock with the serious state of the environment in Kosovo, especially with numerous wastes.

Although according to him, there were recently cleaned-up shares, he took an example that during yesterday's street day and at Mirusha Falls he encountered in many plastic wastes.

German diplomat during the launching of the three-month environmental and Clim Diploma campaign, organised by the European Union Office in Kosovo, has said Kosovo still has work to raise environmental awareness.

I'm shocked when we go to the mountains, like, yesterday in Mirushe Falls and on the way there were full plastic bottles. People take bottles with them and leave them in the wild. What's the problem if they take them to throw away? So we think citizens' awareness is essential to making it clear that plastic waste in nature does not disappear”, Heldt said.

Water, air quality, waste management and energy efficiency are the four main pillars of the campaign, while improving the environment is one of the main steps for Kosovo in the European integration process.

Ricardo Serry, chief of European Department, Economic and Integration, said the environmental campaign aims to raise the level of awareness among Kosovo's population for environmental protection and to challenge the idea that environmental protection is only in the responsibility of Kosovo institutions.

“Contamination, contaminated rivers, construction without permission and waste are reality in Kosovo, not to mention poor air quality. Protection of facilities has been long ignored in Kosovo. And as for the European Union, we have tried hard to do for the environment in Kosovo, and the EU is committed to doing even more in the future”, Serry has said.

The Climma Diplomacy Week is an EU pledge to climate change initiated by the European Foreign Action Service and as an annual event takes place worldwide.

The Climate Diplomacy Week programme focuses on raising awareness of climate change, easing negative trends, climate change in Kosovo as part of the wider geographical area.

Didier Chamber, France's ambassador to Kosovo, who talked about climate change, has said that Kosovo is also influenced by climate change, so according to him, local authorities should inform EU climate policies since it is on the road to European integration.

“I hope that Kosovo will define its climate change targets to reduce gas emissions, investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy, reducing the use of gases in line with the Paris and EU Agreement”, Chabert stressed.

While Ambassador Heldt has said that currently 85 percent of the energy is produced by coal - burning thermal power plants, and a large percentage of the population use heating wood, which leads to air pollution in Kosovo.

According to him, if foresting continues illegally in these sizes, it is projected that until 2030 there will be no forest.

Igor Soltes, the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, has said that climate change affects air pollution, so according to him, Kosovo is important to implement EU climate change laws.