Governments in EU may be liable for dirty air

June 2022

European Union citizens whose health had been affected by excessive air pollution may be able to claim damages from governments, an Advocate General pointed out.  
Advocate General Juliane Kokott said that in her opinion “an infringement of the limit values for the protection of air quality under EU law may give rise to entitlement to compensation from the State.”

Advocates General routinely provide legal guidance to the European Court of Justice. Their opinions aren’t binding but followed in most cases.
AP News, 5 May 2022, https://apnews.com/article/europe-france-pollution-air-quality-b703ff152...

Photo: © Lars-Erik Håkansson

IED review may bring justice to affected citizens

The proposal for the review of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) reveals several improvements, but there are also serious flaws when it comes to reporting and adapting to climate targets.

Photo: Flickr.com / Missy_S. CC BY-NC

Editorial: Clean air narrative must include lifestyle changes

Spring has arrived in Sweden and the trees are bursting into leaf. But these are also worrying times ...

Air quality still a major health risk for Europeans

The Covid lockdown led to reduced pollution from traffic in 2020. Nevertheless, 96 per cent of Europeans were exposed to harmful levels of fine particultate matter (PM2.5).

Nitrogen dioxide levels (NO2) decreased sharply in major cities in France, Spain, and Italy during the first lockdown in spring 2020. Photo: © Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com
Photo: © Audio und werbung / Shutterstock.com

Will FuelEU Maritime deliver on decarbonisation?

Policymakers should introduce dedicated quotas and incentives to boost demand for hydrogen-based shipping fuels.

Farmers will be obliged to reduce ammonia emissions from dairy cattle by almost a quarter. Photo: © Alexander Narraina/ Shutterstock.com

Flanders acts on nitrogen pollution

In April the Flemish government presented a proposal to deal with the high levels of nitrogen emissions in the region.

CCS around the world

This is a continuation of an article from the previous issue, here presenting the situation for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Australia, China and the US.

The location of CCS projects mentioned in the text. Image: © Alpha_7D / Shutterstock.com
Photo: © IhorL / Shutterstock.com

Bye, bye oil, hello peace & democracy

We can get rid of oil, is the chief message of a new AirClim report, Phasing out oil. Many of the methods and policies were in fact devised in 1974, and many have been added since.

Upper right corner: Fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, after Russian shelling 4 March 2022. Main photo: IAEA Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the same day at a press briefing, explaining the situation. Photo: Flickr.com / Daniel Arrhakis CC BY-NC & Flickr.com / IAEa IMageBAnk CC BY

Implications of the Russian military attack on Ukrainian nuclear facilities

Russian military attacks on Ukrainian power plants were the first real example of an event that was always considered a theoretical scenario.

The Paris Agreement climate goal is within reach, but requires steep emission reductions

Over the past year Climate Action Network Europe, Climate Analytics and AirClim have been working on an analysis of pathways ...

Screenshot from a campaign video by CAN Europe.
Contempalting an emissions gap. Image: ©Alberto Andrei Rosu/ Shutterstock.com

Are we really on track to limit temperature rise below 2°C?

A recent Nature article by Malte Meinshausen et al.1 received considerable attention in the media under the headline that current countries’ pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may limit global temperature rise to just below 2°C.

Image: © Bjoern Wylezich / Shutterstock.com

EU carbon market must deliver faster emission cuts

There is an overestimation of the carbon-allowances needed and the current proposal will even be inadequate to meet the 2030 target, according to new research.

Fossil advertising – halfway towards a ban

A campaign that is calling for a ban on fossil advertising at EU level is well underway. Its main objective is to achieve an EU ban on fossil advertising through a citizens’ initiative that is currently collecting signatures throughout the EU.

Photo: © Robert Kneschke / Shutterstock.com
Photo: © tavan150 / Shutterstock.com

Planning for a green recovery

While the war is still ongoing, the Ukrainian environmental movement has already started to plan for how sustainabilty can be integrated in the rebuilding of their country.

Cod in the Baltic Sea are struggling, even without climate change and ocean acidification. Image: Flickr.com / Raw Pixel LTD CC BY

Climate change and other threats to marine life in the Baltic Sea

Researchers conclude that climate change represents the overarching factor, affecting almost all the other natural and human-induced factors in the Baltic Sea.

Marine heatwaves forecasted

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are extended periods of extremely warm seawater. They can have very serious consequences both ecologically and socioeconomically.

Photo: © Shane Myers Photography / Shutterstock.com
Photo: © Vadim Petrakov/ Shutterstock.com

1.5°C: a tipping point for the Arctic

A recently published briefing by Climate Analytics summarises some of the observed and projected impacts on the physical, biological, and human dimensions ...

Rooftop PV could deliver almost a quarter of EU electricity consumption. Photo: © Rene Notenbomer / Shutterstock.com

The untapped potential of rooftop solar power

A new report produced by CAN Europe and its member organisations focusing on rooftop solar PV on residential buildings ...

The EU is taking a big chunk of what is left of the global carbon budget.

The EU’s Fit for 55 proposals are not fit for 1.5

AirClim has published several climate policy briefings which demand that the EU must increase its climate ambition.

Hydrogen may only qualify as renewable if production does not increase the use of electricity generated from fossil fuels and if the return of renewable electricity to the grid equals what is used up. Photo: © Oleksiy Mark / Shutterstock.com

EU hydrogen plan may do more harm than good

The EU’s flagship hydrogen plan has been labelled ‘dangerous’ by Transport & Environment (T&E) and risks undoing positive, ambitious steps to promote ...

Image: © Oxlock / Shutterstock.com

UN review of the long-term climate target

Climate Action Network has sent a submission to the UN Climate Convention with proposals for the Second Periodic Review and the Structured Expert Dialogue (SED).

Photo: © Master1305 / Shutterstock.com

Consultation on Sustainable Food Systems

The European Commission has opened a consultation on a legislative framework for a Sustainable Food System ...

A stir-fry of mycoprotein instead of beef can cut carbon emissions significantly. Photo: © DronG / Shutterstock.com

Fungi-based meat alternatives can stop deforestation

If 20 per cent of global consumption of meat from ruminants is replaced by microbial protein by 2050, it would be enough to stop the expansion of pastures ...

17 per cent of all lung cancer deaths attributed to air pollution. Photo: © Lightspring / Shutterstock.com

Health inequalities highlighted at Zero Pollution stakeholder meting

The EU Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform held its second meeting on 25 April with a focus on health and the Zero Pollution Action Plan ...

Brussels on a carfree Sunday. Photo: © CapturePB / Shutterstock.com

Top 12 measures to limit car traffic in cities

A study by Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies has screened nearly 800 peer-reviewed reports and case studies from all over Europe ...

Cooking outdoors or with cleaner fuels does not increase malarial risk in children. Photo: © Photoongraphy / Shutterstock.com

Smoke, malaria and children under five

The smoke from biomass burning causes severe health risks, including 450,000 premature deaths in children under five years of age.

Governments in EU may be liable for dirty air

European Union citizens whose health had been affected by excessive air pollution may be able to claim damages from governments ...

Photo: Flickr.com / Felix Shaller CC BY-SA

Egypt’s coral reefs endangered due to climate change

Climate change could affect 94% of Egypt’s coral reef tourism income, says study. For many years the rich and diverse ecosystem of ...

Protest outside the European Commission, 21 May 2022. Photo: Flickr.com / Stefan Müller CC BY

Fossil gas and nuclear energy must not be included in EU Taxonomy

In January 2022, civil society organisations sent a letter to President Von der Leyen about the EU Taxonomy: “We are writing ...

Image: © Aleks Melnik / Shutterstock.com

Fossil gas has large health costs

A recent report by Health and Environment Alliance shows that burning fossil gas is a false fix for health.

Electric school bus in California, US. Photo: Flickr.com / Wiliam Newton CC BY-NC-ND

Cleaner vehicles could save 100,000 lives in US

The American Lung Association estimates large health benefits and healthcare cost savings from switching to zero-emission cars and trucks.

Southeast Asia is one of the regions with the poorest air quality. Photo: © Muhd Imran Ismail / Shutterstock.com

UN Health Agency: save lives by moving from fossil fuels

The UN Health Agency is calling for more action to reduce fossil fuels while the world is choking on the resulting harmful pollutants.

Forests of Russia and Climate Change

 A recently published analytical report provides information on the forests and forestry complex of Russia, the impact of climate change on them, and possible measures to combat these changes and enable adaptation.

European Sea Bass. Image: Flickr.com / Raw Pixel LTD CC BY

A warm acid bath is not good for fish larvae

In a recent research article in the Journal of Experimental Biology (JEB), researchers used the larvae and juveniles of European sea bass to study effects of ocean acidification ...