AKIPRESS.COM - A new wave of coal plants in aspirant EU member states, authorized by the Energy Community, risk breaching EU pollution limits if they proceed according to their stated plans, EurActiv reported referring to an EU law firm.

Commitments made under the Energy Community treaty in October 2013 by Moldova, Ukraine and assorted Western Balkan nations oblige them to comply with Chapter III of the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive by 1 January 2018.

But at least five new lignite power plants – in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro – could violate the directive before this date, according to analysis by the Frank Bold legal consultancy.

Potential health and environmental damage from the proposed coal builds has already spurred environmental protests in Ukraine, where poor regulatory standards for hazardous pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) are in place.

These pollutants are responsible for 18,200 premature deaths in Europe ever year, and 8,500 new cases of chronic bronchitis, according to the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a green NGO.

EFT's planned Stanari lignite power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina – which is currently under construction – has been awarded an environmental permit allowing it to emit 2-3 times more SO2, NOx and dust than the currently binding legislation adopted by the Energy Community.

The plants most likely to breach the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive are: Tuzla 7, Stanari and Banovici in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pljevlja II in Montenegro, and Kolubara B in Serbia.