MEPs back new national caps on pollutants, some stemming from agriculture

Air quality: MEPs back new national caps on pollutants
Air quality: MEPs back new national caps on pollutants

Plans for more ambitious national caps on emissions of key pollutants by 2030, including NOx, particulates and sulphur dioxide, won the support of MEPs on Wednesday (23 November).

Air pollution causes about 400,000 premature deaths in the EU per year, according UK European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) member Julie Girling.

“Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of death in the EU”, said the British MEP. “The political backdrop has changed dramatically over the course of the last three years, with the issue of air quality coming up the public agenda to an unprecedented level, in combination with the VW scandal and the issue of real driving emissions. Perhaps there is also the recognition that we have spent the last decade concentrating so much on CO2, that we neglected air quality”, she added.

“I believe strongly that this vote is a step in the right direction. It is not a perfect solution, but it will go a long way to make important health improvements for our citizens, she concluded.

The new legislation sets out national emission reduction commitments for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia (NH3), and fine particulates (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter).

The proposed pollution cuts would reduce health impacts of air pollution by around 50% by 2030. According to the European Environment Agency, almost all NH3 emissions come from agriculture and most methane (CH4) emissions come from the agriculture, waste and energy sectors.

According to European Commission figures, in 2010 air pollution caused over 400,000 premature deaths in the EU. Its total external costs are in the range of €330-940bn per year, including direct economic damage of €15bn from lost workdays, €4bn in healthcare costs, €3bn in crop yield loss and €1bn in damage to buildings.