Two reports from the European Environment Agency (EEA) for the year 2016, published on Monday 9 July, state that polluting emissions from farming and transport in some member states which are struggling to comply with EU legislation are still a problem.
The first is a progress report with updated data on implementation of the directive relating to national emissions ceilings, which was revised in 2016 (Directive 2016/2284/EU, the so-called NEC directive), to reduce air pollution in the EU. The directive concerns four pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), ammonia (NH3) and fine particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter.
The report shows that, in 2016, six member states exceeded ceilings for one or more pollutants. Austria and Ireland exceeded ceilings for NOx and NH3; Croatia, Germany and Spain for NH3, and Hungary for NMVOCs.
The NEC directive allows member states to adjust the reported emissions in their inventories downwards for compliance checking with the emission ceilings, if certain conditions are met. The numbers of exceeded ceilings will be lower if the applications received from countries are officially approved by the European Commission later in 2018, the EEA states.
The report also contains an update of projected emissions reported by EU member states for 2020 and 2030 under the NEC directive in relation to their individual reduction commitments for these years.
Ammonia emissions are up in 15 countries. The second report contains updated data from the annual EU emission inventory report 1990-2016, established under the convention of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on long-range transboundary pollution. It shows that, for the third year running, emissions of ammoniac have increased. In 2016, the rise was 0.4% compared to 2015. Such emissions, mainly from farming, had increased in 15 member states, especially the United Kingdom and Ireland.
On the other hand, emissions of NOx had fallen by 3.7% and those of SOx by 15.1%. The report is submitted by the EU to the UNECE under the requirements of the Gothenburg Protocol to the convention. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)