Emissions of most of the 26 harmful air pollutants monitored in the EU went down in 2018 compared to the previous year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) confirmed on Thursday 23 July.
The updated EEA data is based on the EU annual emission inventory submitted to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on long-range transboundary pollution.
Emissions of the five most harmful air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3), fell between 2017 and 2018 by 4.1%, 2%, 6.7%, 3.8%, 4.3% and 1.6% respectively for the EU as a whole (including the UK).
In 2018, the residential sector and households emitted 61% of all polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 51% of primary PM2.5 and 41% of all dioxins and furans.
As in previous years, about 93% of all NH3 emissions came from agriculture.
Road transport was responsible for 39% of NOx emissions, followed by energy production and distribution (16%) and the commercial, institutional and household sectors (14%).
Energy production and distribution was responsible for 41% of all mercury emissions and 48% of all sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions.
To access the report: https://bit.ly/32OOqzF (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)