Brussels, 16/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - No quarter for mercury, methane, ammonia or other atmospheric pollutants when public health is at stake. The committee on the environment of the European Parliament is determined to work for better air quality in the EU.
In Brussels on Wednesday 15 July, when it took position in favour of more ambitious national ceilings for the emissions of the principal pollutants and a more stringent timetable for the reduction of emissions than proposed by the European Commission, it made this quite clear.
The majority (38 votes in favour, 28 against and two abstentions) of the MEPs of this committee considerably tightened up the legislative proposal of the “Clean air in Europe” programme, which aims to revise directive 2003/35/EC on the national emissions ceilings (known as the NEC directive), with the main aim of more than halving the 400,000 premature deaths a year due to atmospheric pollution.
No fewer than 615 amendments and compromise amendments under scrutiny concerned the level of ambition of the emissions reductions for 2000, 2025 and 2030 and the fate of ammonia and methane. With their vote, the MEPs called for the revised NEC directive to bring in national ceilings for mercury and to include the new ceilings proposed by the Commission for emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (COV-NM), methane (CH4), ammonia and fine particles (2.5 PM) for 2020 and 2030. Additionally, in order to make it easier to meet the 2030 targets, they have called for the interim targets for 2025 to be binding rather than just indicative.
“The new NEC directive is the opportunity to tackle this important health issue by putting in place the benchmarks for member states to work towards. We cannot underestimate the benefits that would result from cleaning up the air we breathe”, said rapporteur Julie Girling (ECR, UK).
The environmental NGOs also welcomed the vote as a breath of fresh air. “The Parliament has put health above any other consideration, despite intense lobbying from the agricultural sector and industry”, said Anne Stauffer, deputy director of HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance), who particularly welcomed the Parliament's intention of tackling emissions of mercury, “a highly toxic heavy metal which threatens the healthy development of our children”. In the view of Louise Duprez of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the vote is “good news for all of Europe's citizens”. She welcomes the fact that the MEPs “want to help bring about healthier and longer lives, lower health bills and greater economic productivity”.
Readers may recall that the ceiling values proposed by the Commission for 2030 are a problem for most of the member states and that in order to make life easier for them, the Latvian Presidency of the Council removed methane from the scope of application of the text (see EUROPE 11335). Now that the MEPs of the ENVI committee have had their say, the Commission may review its proposal, as announced. The Parliament will take position in plenary in September. Carole Dieschbourg, president-in-exercise of the Environment Council, told the MEPs that the Luxembourg Presidency will look into the possibilities of an agreement (see other article). It will be no walk in the park. (Aminata Niang)