In Belgrade, about 2,000 people took to the streets on Saturday (September 11th), urging the Serbian government not to give permission to the international company Rio Tinto to build a lithium mine in the west of the country. The demonstration was initiated by 30 Serbian organizations involved in environmental protection.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – September 12, 2021 – International News
Among other things, the protesters called on politicians to strengthen environmental legislation and cancel all their obligations to Rio Tinto. About one hundred thousand people had previously signed the petition.
For a while, environmental activists blocked one of Belgrade’s main bridges. The posters held by the protesters read: “Rio Tinto, go.”
Rio Tinto intends to invest 2 billion euros in the project
The Serbian government has agreed to transfer rights to Rio Tinto to develop a lithium mine to support the national economy. For his part, the head of Rio Tinto promised to comply with both Serbian national legislation and EU environmental regulations when concluding the agreement.
Lithium is used, inter alia, for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. In July, Rio Tinto undertook to invest $ 2.4 billion in the project.
Environmental problems of Serbia
According to the Swiss company IQAir, which monitors air quality, in 2019 Serbia ranked fifth in the ranking of the most polluted countries in Europe. Coal plants operated by Chinese companies, among other things, have a negative impact on air quality in Serbia. Industrial pollution also affected Serbian rivers.
Countries most vulnerable to climate change are calling for an “emergency pact” to cope with rising temperatures.
A recent study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the threshold will be exceeded in just over ten years at the current rate of carbon emissions.
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Source: Ukrgate
