Air Convention: More measures needed

Despite recent improvements in air quality in Europe and North America, air pollution is still the primary environmental cause of premature death and ecosystem biodiversity is threatened by nitrogen deposition, according to the report “Towards Cleaner Air” from the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), released in Brussels on 31 May.

Over the last few decades, average life expectancy in Europe has increased by one year and hundreds of thousands of premature deaths every year have been avoided as a result of policy-driven actions to reduce air pollutant emissions. In addition, soil acidification has been halted in most parts of Europe, and fish stocks are recovering in freshwaters where they had largely disappeared.

The cost of damage to human health from air pollution (excluding damage to crops or buildings) is about €1,100 billion per year in Europe and over US$ 1,000 billion in the United States. For half the UN ECE countries, the total health costs of air pollution represent more than 10 per cent of GDP. The report finds that air pollution control costs are significantly lower than the health costs, which makes abatement measures a sound investment.

“Specific action will be needed to abate ammonia emissions, which principally come from agriculture. Abatement options will need to include reducing livestock densities in and around sensitive nature areas and encouraging low-meat diets,” said Anna Engleryd, Chair of the Executive Body for the LRTAP Convention.

Created in 1979, the LRTAP Convention now has 51 parties in the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) region, covering North America and almost the entire European continent.

More information.
The report.

In this issue

Paris changes everything

The Paris Agreement constitutes a global turning point away from fossil fuels and toward 100% renewable energy.

Editorial: No viable future for coal anywhere

The UN climate conference in Paris last December decided to limit the temperature increase to well below 2°C/1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Paths to a sustainable agricultural system

An integrated food and agricultural policy and changes in consumption patterns are holistic approaches needed to tackle emissions from agriculture.

Targets aren’t enough, but gap can be closed

Europe’s solar and wind initiatives, if both implemented, could increase Europe’s climate target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 to 60%.

Coal kills across borders

Every coal-fired power station switched off will bring great benefits that reach beyond national borders, for both human health and the climate.

Europe’s biggest polluters

Polish lignite plant Belchatow and British coal plant Drax dominate Europe’s most polluting point sources in 2014.

A phase-out plan for coal in Europe

Very old and high-emitting plants are easy to replace with renewables and improvements in energy efficiency.

Lignite power developments in Europe

Several European countries are investing in lignite mining, despite the fact that the industry faces declining profit margins in competition with low-carbon energy production.

New watered-down EU air pollution targets

Compared to the Commission’s proposal, the relaxed targets finally agreed by member states and parliament will result in thousands of additional cases of premature death.

10 countries still breach EU’s air pollution limits

Nitrogen oxides from transport and ammonia from agriculture are still being emitted above the legal limits of the NEC directive.

Many ways to cut ship NOx emissions

Establishing NOx Emission Control Areas would significantly reduce ship NOx emissions by 2040 – introducing economic instruments could cut emissions faster and further.

OECD warns of rising costs of air pollution

Outdoor air pollution could cause up to nine million premature deaths a year by 2060 and cost US$ 3.3 trillion annually as a result of sick days, healthcare expenditure and reduced agricultural output, unless action is taken.