BreatheLife welcomed the Republic of Moldova on World Environment Day, when the country of 3.6 million citizens took stock of its actions for better air quality at a national conference in capital Chisinau.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Valentina Țapiș presented the country’s main achievements, which included the completion of a study on fuel quality and consumption in Moldova, approval of environmental standards for petrol and diesel in line with European Union directives, and introducing options for vehicle taxation systems in the country.
Findings from the baseline study of fuel quality in Moldova included the good news that purchases of hybrid electric vehicles had increased dramatically, from also zero in 2011 to 2,900 in 2017 owing to a new 50 per cent excise exemption, an increase of almost 28 per cent in average auto fuel economy from 2005 to 2017, and a preference for small and medium cars as a percentage of total imports.
Moldova is also implementing a project in conjunction with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, “Institutional strengthening support to scale up action on short-lived climate pollutants”, whose principal aim is to raise the level of action taken in Moldova to reduce air pollution by further promoting coordinating and dialogue among the main relevant national stakeholders and by boosting public awareness.
Under the project, it has developed the institutional capacity to report on a range of air pollutants under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, monitoring 26 pollutants, among them fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
“Moldova has regulations and policies in place to control emissions from agriculture, transport, waste management, household air pollution and energy supply, but we continue to work on gaps, for example, integrated monitoring of air quality, engaging key stakeholders in coordination planning actions, and raising awareness of the relationship between air quality and health,” Țapiș said.
The government is working on strengthening awareness of that relationship through research on the health impacts of air pollution in cooperation with the State University of Medicine and strengthening Moldova’s participation in the Urban Health Initiative, which is in development.
Gaps were also outlined at the conference, and included the need to further develop the air monitoring system and integrated environmental monitoring system, to increase the number of mobile air quality measurement stations, and to enhance planning activities for air quality protection.
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Moldova kicks off its BreatheLife membership on World Environment Day, taking stock of air pollution actions and gaps at a conference
The country has also made adopting vehicle standards a priority in 2019-2020.
Energy efficiency is encouraged in the country through the Energy Efficiency Financing Line for Moldovan enterprises, launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), that supports investments in energy efficiency. giving them access to €20 million in loans through local partner banks. With the help of the Moldovan Sustainable Energy Financing Facility, EBRD provided € 20 million for lending through local partner banks.
All these actions contribute to the country’s various laws and strategies that promote the use of renewable energy, low emissions development, energy efficiency and protection of the air, as well as its Environmental Strategy 2014-2023 and its Action Plan for implementation.
The BreatheLife network welcomes Moldova as it progresses in implementing its plans and widening the scope of its clean air and climate change measures.
Follow Moldova’s clean air journey here.