Dublin, 23/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Despite progress made with a view to addressing the urban air pollution problem, air pollution in towns and the number of premature deaths it causes remain an urgent challenge to be met by the EU. This requires active involvement by local authorities and also increased international cooperation given the cross-border nature of pollution sources.
EU27 environment ministers were all agreed on this on Monday 22 April, during their informal meeting in Dublin in an exchange of views on air quality policy and its announced revision. They shared experiences on the green capitals of Europe and on “smart” cities. However, rather than fix new national ceilings for emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (NO2), they felt priority should be given to implementing the existing legislation with as much flexibility as required to take account of specific local features and the various difficulties encountered by the many member states. Ratification by all of the revised Gothenburg Protocol and better communication on the costs and benefits of preventing atmospheric pollution for the information of European citizens would be a useful complement to this, they said.
Phil Hogan, Ireland's Environment Minister, who chaired the session, told the press that the ministers are well aware that more can be done. There has been considerable criticism regarding implementation of the current legislation, he said, but it is necessary to abide by the legislation in force before setting new limits. Conclusions, he added, will be adopted at the end of the year under Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers.
Revision of the directive on the capping of national emissions, initially planned in 2010 according to the terms of this legislative text, was deferred to give member states time to come into line. This was in vain, however, as, to date, most member states are still not complying with EU legislation. The European Commission plans to integrate review of these ceilings within the framework of its proposal to review EU policy on air quality, to be presented this autumn.
During the ministerial debate, European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said that, according to the latest estimates, some 420,000 Europeans died prematurely due to air pollution in 2010. It is in the towns and cities that local and European challenges meet. This means, he went on, that it is necessary to exploit the full potential of international cooperation, not only within the EU but also beyond. This means that it is necessary for the regions and towns to cooperate more, stressed Potocnik.
Speaking of progress made, Potocnik pointed out that acid rain has been practically eliminated. The phenomenon stimulated innovation, and European companies and businesses have become world leaders in technologies for reducing pollution. He said the challenge of addressing air quality in Asian towns is such that this is a sector with potential world growth. In other terms, the targets set all those years ago have paid off, he asserted, adding that there are still challenges to be met. The analysis, Potocnik said, shows that there is still a long way to go before attaining the EU's objective of achieving an air quality that does not give rise to significant adverse impact on human health and the environment. To date, the United States has been the world leader with regard to air quality. It is time, Potocnik said, that “we learn from the US and overtake it”.
Revision will be according to three key objectives: 1) in the short term - and by 2020 at the latest -to coming into line with existing air quality policies consistent with the recently revised Gothenburg Protocol; it will, in particular, be necessary to have European action to ensure that the EURO 6 standards for diesel bring the considerable improvement hoped for by 2017 at the latest, the Commission says; 2) establishing a clear objective for additional reductions to pollution by 2025 or 2030; Potocnik considers the only credible vision is “Zero impact”, i.e. no effect whatsoever on health, no more eutrophication and no more acid rain; and 3) taking a combination of concrete and effective measures to attain that objective. It is in this context that revision of the directive on national capping of emissions will be made with the new ceilings for 2025 or 2030 complemented by control measures for each emission source - small combustion installations, farming, maritime transport - according to a harmonised approach at European level. (AN/transl.jl)