Illustration: Lars-Erik Håkansson
No. 3, October 2012
Editorial: Acid News celebrates 30 years!
Today it goes without saying that countries have to cooperate and take action in order to resolve transboundary environmental problems, but this was far from obvious for most countries only a few decades ago.
China: New emission standards for power plants
China’s new emission standards for power plants are comparable to, and in some cases even stricter than, current standards in the EU and the United States.
Progress in EU air policy review
Next year the Commission is to present an updated EU clean air strategy. Scenarios for future air pollutant emissions indicate that these can be significantly cut by combining technical abatement measures with stricter climate policies.
Finding climate policy for the agricultural sector
A trading system for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions results in less leakage than emission caps or a tax on livestock, according to a new report by the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). But the practical difficulties of trading with emissions from diffuse sources such as livestock and arable land are not even mentioned.
Ten one-liners for air policy
In politics, one-liners are in vogue because they bring the message back to the core. Nuances do not come across in a debate. The same seems to apply to air pollution policy. The multitude of information seems to paralyse policy, and not only in the Netherlands. So here are ten ‘one-liners’ for boosting air pollution policy, in the spirit of the Ten Commandments.
Great benefits of NOx reductions in the North Sea
The health benefits of establishing a North Sea NECA are up to seven times higher than the costs and would provide total annual net benefits to society of up to €1646 million in 2030.
Slow steaming saves money and the climate
Regulated speed reduction is a cost-effective and practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from shipping.
Energy Efficiency: A deal, but not a great one
On Thursday June 14 all three branches of EU government reached agreement on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). Formal adoption will be completed later this year.
F-gases still a problem
The production of fluorinated greenhouse gases in the EU has decreased in terms of tonnage, but since the proportion of gases with the highest global warming potentials (GWP) simultaneously has increased there is no reduction in the overall climate impact.
New CO2 standards for cars and vans
Carbon dioxide standards have pushed the auto industry to achieve the same efficiency improvements in the last three years as achieved in the previous eight years. The European Commission has now presented proposals on how standards can be tightened from 2020 and onwards.
Ship emissions continue to increase
While air pollutant emissions from land-based sources in Europe keep on slowly shrinking, some reductions are countered by rising emissions from international shipping.
North American ECA comes into effect
The Emissions Control Area (ECA) surrounding North America came into effect on 1 August, meaning that all ships operating within 200 nautical miles of the United States and Canada coastline ..
Researchers raise prospect of Australian ECA
Around 30 per cent of man-made nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions and 20 per cent of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in the Australian region come from shipping, according to a new study.
Hong Kong study supports regional ECA
A recent study by the Civic Exchange, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong shows that excessive deaths in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta ..
EU sulphur rule has improved air quality
Sulphur dioxide emissions from shipping have sharply decreased in EU ports thanks to an EU policy which limits sulphur content in fuels for ships at berth or at anchor in ports.
MEPs back proposal for greener leisure boats
The European Parliament’s internal market committee on 21 June endorsed a draft directive that would set slightly tougher emission limits ..
Tougher ship sulphur limits adopted by EU parliament
New EU legislation aimed at reducing sulphur pollution from ships was adopted by the European Parliament on 11 September. The revised EU directive implements the international ..
400-ppm milestone has been reached
For the first time monthly mean levels of carbon dioxide above 400 parts per million have been recorded over the entire Arctic and parts of Japan. Globally, it will take ..
Porsche behind noise proposal
An engineer at Porsche stood as the author of a “compromise” amendment for stricter noise standards that the Czech rapporteur Miroslav Ouzký circulated to the EU Parliament Environment Committee.
New US fuel economy standards
The United States has adopted new fuel economy standards for cars and light-duty trucks, which will raise average fuel economy in 2025 to 54.5 miles per gallon, equivalent to 101 grams of CO2 per km.
Sea level rise already at 2-degree warming
Sea levels could rise significantly over the next few centuries, even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees, reaching between 1.5 and 4 metres above present-day sea level by the year 2300.
Make your voice heard on road charging!
The European Commission is considering harmonised rules on road charging for cars and has now opened a public consultation on the issue. A possible harmonisation ..
WHO: Diesel exhaust causes lung cancer
Exhaust fumes from diesel engines can cause lung cancer, according to a thorough assessment by World Health Organization (WHO) experts. At a meeting in June ..
Commission continues tough line on air quality
Over the summer, the European Commission has made decisions on numerous requests from member states for extra time to meet nitrogen dioxide (NO2) standards. Fewer than half ..
Twelve member states exceed NOx ceilings
Earlier analysis by the European Environment Agency that twelve member states exceed the limits of the NEC Directive is now confirmed by the countries’ own preliminary data for 2010.
Harmful air pollutants strike Europeans
A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that many parts of Europe have persistent problems with outdoor concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM) and ground-level ozone.
Public consultation on urban transport
In conjunction with the opening of this year’s European Mobility Week this Monday the European Commission launched a public consultation on sustainable urban transport ..