IOM NORTH MACEDONIA IS SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAMME FOR REDUCING THE AIR POLLUTION AND ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 2030 AGENDA GOALS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

On April 1, 2022, IOM North Macedonia in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of the Republic of North Macedonia and University of Birmingham hosted a hybrid event presenting the new project “Utilizing A Systems Approach to Assess the Nexus Between Air Pollution and Human Mobility and Mainstream the Nexus into Policy Development in the Republic of North Macedonia” for participants from the government, civil society representatives and academia.

The event was introduced with opening remarks by the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning of the Republic of North Macedonia, Naser Nuredini, and the Head of Office of the IOM Mission to the Republic of North Macedonia, Sonja Bоzinovska Petrushevska, followed by an introductory presentation on Migration Environment Climate and Climate Changes by the IOM Thematic Specialist on Migration, Environment and Climate Change in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Soumyadeep Banerjee and a presentation of the project by the IOM North Macedonia Project Manager, Vanja Lazaridis.

The conference also featured speeches and presentations on the methodology and the study on air pollution and human mobility, given by Professor William Avis and Professor Francis Pope, University of Birmingham, and Professor Mennan Selimi, South East European University, North Macedonia.

Over the next 18 months, this project will contribute to addressing the knowledge and policy gaps pertaining to the complex inter-linkages between human mobility, air pollution and clean energy in the context of the Government of North Macedonia’s vision on clean air, as well as explore the human mobility, air pollution and clean energy nexus in the context of the European Green Deal’s Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.