Five member states have received final warnings. Photo: Fotolia.com © Prazis

23 countries are breaching air quality laws

Binding air quality standards are being flouted in more than 130 cities across 23 of the 28 EU member states, according to the European Commission’s Environmental Implementation Review.

Infringement proceedings for PM₁₀ have been launched for a total of 16 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2015, cases against Bulgaria and Poland were brought to the European Court of Justice.

Over the last two years, the Commission launched legal action against 12 member states for failing to enforce the air quality standards for NO₂, namely: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the UK.

On 15 February, the Commission sent final warnings (reasoned opinion) to the EU’s five largest countries – Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Italy – over “repeated, persistent breaches” of the NO₂ limits.

Sources: EurActiv.com, 7 February 2017; Commission press release, 6 February 2017: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-197_en.htm and 15 February 2017: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-238_en.htm

Air pollutionAir qualityEuropean Union

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Editorial: Another agricultural system is possible

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Global warming and its implications for coral reefs

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EU needs to shut all coal plants by 2030

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How to get people to eat less meat

Personality, friends, religion and political instruments all have an impact on what we eat. A successful strategy to reduce meat consumption therefore needs to have a mixed approach that targets different factors simultaneously.

Stronger air quality measures needed

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Cost-effective to cut ship NOx emissions

By supplementing NOx Emission Control Areas with economic instruments, ship NOx emissions can be cut faster and further.

Coal project in Croatia stopped

Croatian electricity company HEP Proizvodnja was proposing that a new 500 MW unit replace the ageing Plomin 1 plant, at the site of the existing Plomin Power Station. As a result, the Plomin Power Station capacity would have increased from 335 MW to 710 MW

23 countries are breaching air quality laws

In this issue

Livestock on leftovers

Editorial: Another agricultural system is possible

New NEC Directive in force

Big emissions from small chimneys

CCS is still a failure

Global warming and its implications for coral reefs

EU needs to shut all coal plants by 2030

How to get people to eat less meat

Stronger air quality measures needed

Cost-effective to cut ship NOx emissions

Coal project in Croatia stopped

In Breif

Bulgaria faces court for air quality failure

Air pollution linked to fifth of pre-term births

No improvement in fuel efficiency for years

Four of world’s biggest cities to ban diesel cars

Trucks and buses cleaner than diesel cars

China forecasts stable or declining CO2 emissions

US greenhouse gas emissions fell in 2015

Portugal halts oil exploration

Global soil carbon losses in response to warming

WHO air quality guidelines – report

High emissions from chainsaws and trimmers

Chinese ship emission control areas

Publications

SINK OR SOURCE? Northern Forests at a crossroads

The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Protecting Northern Forests crucial for biodiversity, the climate and indigenous rights

The 100 largest industry emitters in EU-27

Road to Nowhere

Bioenergy CCS – too little, too expensive, and not net negative

Direct air carbon capture and storage - A waste of time and energy

Carbon emissions from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS

What we do

Air pollution

Climate Change

Policy initiatives

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