Most EU Member States are likely to miss their targets for 2020 and 2030 set by the new National Emission Ceilings Directive (EU 2016/2284, known as the NEC Directive), according to the European Commission's first report on the implementation of this directive, which was published on Friday 26 June.
This key directive in the ‘Clean Air for Europe’ package aims to halve the number of premature deaths per year from air pollution by 2030.
It covers five major pollutants — nitrogen oxides (NOx), methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — and sets national emission reduction targets for 2020-2029 as well as more ambitious commitments for 2030 and beyond (see EUROPE 11685/36).
Non-compliance with commitments made to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture is the most common and serious problem of implementing it. Last year, the European Environment Agency confirmed an upward trend in emissions of this pollutant for the fourth consecutive year (see EUROPE 12285/13).
“All across Europe, too many citizens are still at risk from the air they breathe. We need more effective measures to cut pollution in numerous Member States and to tackle air emissions across sectors, including agriculture, transport and energy”, commented the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, in a statement.
An action plan to meet the objective of 'zero pollution' for air, water and soil is to be presented by the European Commission in 2021, under the European Green Deal framework.
Compliance with the national targets set by the NEC Directive for 2020 will be verified in 2022, at which stage emission inventories for 2020 are available.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/2NtlSTA (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)