A new report by the European Environmental Bureau argues that 78,000 additional lives could be saved every year if all member states respected the new limit values set by the directive on national emissions ceilings (revised NEC directive), that was adopted in December 2016 (see EUROPE 11685).
The report published on Wednesday 15 February calls on the member states and the European Commission to strive to fully and effectively implement existing legislation and take further steps to protect human health and the environment from air pollution that causes 450,000 premature deaths in the EU each year.
“What the European Commission is doing today is essential. EU air pollution laws are designed to protect our health. There’s no excuse for countries that fail to implement these laws properly. Children growing up in urban areas deserve better than to be forced to inhale toxic fumes known to cause bronchitis, asthma and other conditions”, Louise Duprez, EEB Senior Policy Officer on Air Pollution, said in a press release.
Salutary infringement proceedings. The EEB welcomed the final warning before referral to the Court of Justice that the Commission has sent France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK for consistently exceeding the limits set for concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the air (see EUROPE 11726) by the directive on ambient air quality (2008/50/EC).
The EEB report, A critical Guide of the National Emission Ceilings, is available online at: http://www.eeb.org/EEB/assets/File/Clearing%20the%20Air%20%20A%20Critical%20Guide%20to%20the%20new%20NEC%20Directive.pdf (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)