EU member states must meet legally binding limits for four air pollutants set by the 2001 National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD), but according to the annual NECD status report released 1 June by the European Environment Agency (EEA), ten member states expect to miss their respective emission ceilings for nitrogen oxides.
The report documents the most recent emissions (2009) and projection information (2010) for the four pollutants sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and ammonia (NH3). The pollutants covered by the report harm both human health and the environment by contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone and particulate matter and leading to acidification and eutrophication.
By contributing to more than 40 per cent of total EU27 NOx emissions in 2009, the road transport sector bears most of the blame for the anticipated exceedances. Although emissions from this sector have decreased since 1990, recent reductions have not been as large as originally anticipated. This is partly because the sector has grown more than expected and partly because vehicle emission standards have not always delivered the anticipated level of NOx reductions.
Some member states, such as the Netherlands and Slovenia, expect to exceed their respective NOx ceilings by only small margins (less than 5 per cent). In contrast, Germany and France expect to exceed their ceilings by 328 kilotonnes and 275 kilotonnes respectively - equivalent to exceedances of 31 and 34 per cent. Austria, while expecting a lower surplus in absolute terms, anticipates exceeding its ceiling by 40 per cent.
While all countries are likely to achieve their ceilings for SO2, four (Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Spain) are expected to exceed their ceilings for NMVOCs, and two (Germany and the Netherlands) those for NH3.
Source: European Environment Agency, 1 June 2011
Europe should take an integrated approach to nitrogen management. This is the main message of the European Nitrogen Assessment, a new report launched during the "Nitrogen and Global Change" conference, in Edinburgh (UK) from 11–14 April, 2011.
The number of premature deaths in Europe caused by air pollutant emissions from international shipping is estimated to amount to approximately 49,500 in the year 2000, and rise to 53,200 in 2020.
There are sufficient resources to provide the world with renewable energy. The main constraint on development is public policy, that is the main message in a new IPCC report.
A handful of measures targeting black carbon and tropospheric ozone can reduce future global warming by 0.5°C, according to a UNEP and WMO report.
Germany's lignite power plants still dominate the CO2 list. Serbia is registering emissions for the first time and enters both the NOx list and the SO2 list.
Mercury emissions from coal-fired plants can be cut by well over 90 per cent, but this fact has so far been neglected in ongoing talks for a revised Heavy Metals Protocol.
As no revision of the European Air Quality legislation is planned until at least 2013, the EU has said it will focus on source-oriented legislation in the meantime. Often neglected in comparison to regulations concerning road vehicles, the so-called "non-road" sector, which includes locomotive ..
"Curbing mobility is not an option," says the European Commission in a new roadmap for the transport sector, expressing a view that immediately sparked criticism.
Prompt action is required to further reduce particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and nitrogen dioxide – an EU clean air strategy should be adopted in 2013.
Significant environmental improvements can be achieved while additional costs still stay well below 0.1 per cent of GDP. Moreover, health benefits alone outweigh the costs by ten times or more.