Thursday, September 21, 2023

Members of the Green Group near the Parliament of Albania joined the awareness activities of the European Mobility Week, the main promotional event of the European Union for promoting sustainable urban mobility. As a concrete action, parliamentarians and staff of the Assembly were provided with three electric scooters for their daily commuting, as a means that reduces pollution and traffic congestion. The action is aimed at the promotion of alternative and smart forms of transport by the parliamentarians, as well as the awareness of the deputies for the improvement of the legislation and the provision of incentives for the development of nature-friendly urban transport. At the presentation ceremony of this initiative, Mr. Arben Pëllumbi, chairman of the Green Group, emphasized the need for legal regulation of the use of electric scooters in Albania, so that these tools that help reduce the carbon footprint do not become problematic for pedestrians and other road users. The electric scooters were provided as part of the program "Capacity Development of informal Green Parliamentary Groups from South-East Europe on EU-compliant energy and transport goals", with the support of the German Federal Government through the Open Regional Funds for Southeast Europe - Energy, Transport and Climate Protection, co-financed by the European Union and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Academy of Political Studies (ASP) The ceremony was also part of the informative session with students of the “Red School” in Tirana, organized by the Assembly of Albania, through its civic education programs. The discussion between MPs and students focused on the consequences of human activity on climate change. MPs of the Green Group explained to the participants all the legal initiatives undertaken by the Parliament of Albania with a focus on environmental protection. The invited expert, Ms. Ariela Hajdarmataj presented to the students the main concepts of Urban Mobility as well as the findings and recommendations that are provided for public transport in the city of Tirana as part of the Sustainable Urban Transport (SUTi) project of GIZ. At the end of the meeting, MPs advised the students to be active in protecting the environment, starting with small actions at the community level to avoid irreparable consequences on the environment and our health.