Bucharest Green Belt civic initiative finds support across political spectrum as PM also signs memorandum
Marcel Ciolacu, prime minister and leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), signed on Monday, June 3, a memorandum of understanding on solutions to combat the worrying air pollution in Bucharest and create a much-needed green…
Irina Marica · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
Marcel Ciolacu, prime minister and leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), signed on Monday, June 3, a memorandum of understanding on solutions to combat the worrying air pollution in Bucharest and create a much-needed green belt around the capital city. "Pollution is not left or right. Pollution is killing us all! And all of us, together, have a duty to fight this invisible killer," the PM said.
With Marcel Ciolacu's signature, the Memorandum for Clean Air, Health, and the Future, a pillar of the Together for the Green Belt/Împreună pentru Centura Verde civic platform initiated by mountaineer and environmentalist Alex Găvan, has managed to unite leaders from across the political spectrum.
Liberal leader and Senate speaker Nicolae Ciucă also signed the memorandum, alongside party presidents Cătălin Drulă (USR), Kelemen Hunor (UDMR), and Dragoș Pîslaru and Ramona Strugariu (REPER), who were joined by Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, Ilfov County Council president Hubert Thuma, and environment minister Mircea Fechet (PNL).
Monday's signing event was held in a place chosen for its essential symbolic value - a meadow in the heart of the Balotești forest, part of the future green belt, on the banks of the Vlăsia river.
"Very few people manage to climb eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen. Alex Găvan is one of them! Yes, the air is thin up there. But down here, we're all suffocating from pollution. That's what the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt must be. Oxygen reserve for the people who live here and feel the effects of pollution to the fullest! We are developing Bucharest and Ilfov, we are building infrastructure for access to the city, but we must also make sure that pollution doesn't suffocate us, and one solution is the protection by law of the forests around the capital, new afforestation to increase the existing forest area, but also the opening of these forests to people, for recreational purposes," prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said.
Moreover, he stated that the green belt concept should be extended to other cities in Romania. Plus, the authorities are already working on identifying land plots that could be used for afforestation, backed by the EU-funded Recovery and Resilience Plan, including for this project in Ilfov county.
"I congratulate Alex Găvan and all his colleagues from the Together for the Green Belt civic platform for uniting all the parties and all the political leaders around a common project. Pollution is not left or right. Pollution is killing us all! And all of us, together, have a duty to fight this invisible killer," he added.
