Progress is being made on the pollution reduction targets for 2030 and 2050 (zero pollution) to which the European Union has committed itself, but not enough, according to two reports published by the European Commission, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, on Monday 3 March.
According to the second Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report and the Fourth Clean Air Outlook report, air pollution, the use of pesticides and plastic waste at sea have decreased, in absolute terms, but these changes are not sufficient.
Noise pollution, the release of micro-plastics into the environment, nutrient pollution and waste production are still at “high” levels.
To achieve its targets by 2030, the EU will have to take “far stronger action”, according to the European Commission. To achieve this, it is recommended that “the principles of zero pollution (...) be integrated into all policies and at all levels”.
On Monday 3 March, at the 7th Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform meeting, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Jessika Roswall, stated that the Member States would have to “step up efforts on noise pollution, nitrogen deposition (...) our consumption of natural resources remains a major driver of pollution”.
To date, the target of reducing the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% is “limited progress”, according to the EEA. The 25% reduction in the impact of air pollution on ecosystems seems “unlikely to be met”, while the 50% reduction in nutrient losses is compromised by the use of fertilisers.
Also overdue, the fight against microplastics pollution will have to accelerate with the regulation on the prevention of plastic pellet loss, which is currently being negotiated between the EU Council and the Parliament (see EUROPE 13569/10).
The EEA believes that “full implementation and enforcement” with European environmental legislation already adopted will be essential. The Industrial Emissions Directive, the Ambient Air Quality Directive, the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Mercury Regulation have been identified as key regulations.
Currently under negotiation between the institutions, a revised surface and groundwater pollutants list (see EUROPE 13538/2), the directive on soil resilience (see EUROPE 13545/7) and the revision of the REACH Regulation (see EUROPE 13563/15), which assesses and reduces the risks associated with chemicals, have also been identified as essential legislation.
The publication of these reports should serve to “guide future policies”, according to the European Commission. However, by reducing the scope of the due diligence, with its ‘omnibus’ package presented on Wednesday 26 February, the Commission has left the field open to companies, which “will not assume their responsibilities”, according to the NGO Oxfam (see EUROPE 13588/5).
See the second Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report: https://aeur.eu/f/fpz
See the Commission’s Fourth Clean Air Outlook report: https://aeur.eu/f/fpy (Original version in French by Florent Servia)