A Silent Killer in the Air: Environmental Crime as a Threat to Public Health and Justice

Environmental crime related to air pollution poses one of the most serious threats to the environment and human health, but often remains outside the focus of criminal justice. This paper investigates air pollution through illegal industrial emissions, manipulation of environmental regulations, illegal waste-burning, and falsification of emissions data. The legal framework and shortcomings in the legal regulations that allow these criminal acts to remain unpunished or minimally sanctioned are analyzed. The first part of the paper covers the analysis of crimes against the environment and nature related to air pollution, the damage caused by such illegal activities, as well as other legal regulations adopted by the Republic of North Macedonia for the purpose of nature protection. The second part of the paper refers to the analysis of statistical data obtained from institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia that measure air pollution and related crimes committed at the state level. In the end, the authors provide recommendations for increasing transparency, strengthening inspection bodies, and better international cooperation in the fight against this invisible but dangerous threat.