Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Kosovo, has the dubious distinction of not complying with the pollution ceilings for any of the required pollutants: sulphur dioxide, dust or nitrogen oxides.  

The most serious breaches are for sulphur dioxide. In 2020 sulphur dioxide emissions from the NERP plants in BiH reached almost ten times as much as allowed – 220,411 tonnes compared to 22,195 tonnes. Absolute emissions increased in 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019. Kakanj 7 had the highest exceedance in 2020 – almost fifteen times its ceiling.  

Dust emissions in 2020 amounted to 2,686 tonnes compared to the ceiling of 1689 tonnes. This was largely due to massive dust emissions from the Gacko plant, which were more than five times as high as the plant’s ceiling, and from the Ugljevik plant, which were twice as high as the plant’s ceiling.  

Nitrogen oxide emissions in 2020 totalled 16,367 tonnes, compared to the ceiling of 12,365 tonnes. Here too, Kakanj 7 had the highest exceedance, with more than double the allowed emissions.  

The 2020 health burden from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s non-compliance is 1,345 deaths, 406,169 work days lost, 3.04 billion EUR.