2014 Air Quality report
That event served the European Environment Agency (EEA) to present the report 2014 Air Quality in Europe. According to the revealed data, more than 95% of the urban population is exposed to unsafe levels of key pollutants and even short-term exposure might pose a serious threat to the city dwellers’ health. Furthermore, scientific research shows that all air pollutants may be more harmful than previously thought. Air pollution’s effect on respiratory illnesses and heart disease is widely known but new studies have shown that it can also affect health in other ways: from foetal development to a disease appearing in adult life.
United Kingdom pressured to clean up air pollution
Whereas the European decision-making bodies are getting ready for the debates on the new Clean Air Package aimed to improve the air we breathe, the European Court of Justice has taken action on the United Kingdom which has failed to comply with the existing air pollution limit values. By the Court’s decision, the UK government will be forced to urgently clean up illegal air pollution in British cities. The European court ruled that the UK’s Supreme Court now has jurisdiction over the matter and must order the Government to take action to meet the legal limits in a short time frame. The UK Government is also facing a separate £300 million fine for failing to meet the EU’s air quality directive on pollution.
EU Air Quality at stake
Latest developments on the Clean Air Package negotiations
While the process of preparation of the European Commission work plan for 2015 is taken place now, EFA, together with its long-standing partners Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS), has addressed a public health letter to the President of the Commission Juncker, to the First Vice-President Timmermans and to the Commissioners for Health, Andriukaitis, and Environment, Vella. The letter clarifies that the implementation of the air quality package is a positive driver for industry, for climate change actions and for energy policy targets. The proposed air quality policy will ensure Europe’s role as a leader in green growth, innovation and environmental protection in the international community. At the same time, it will help the European Union to reach its long-standing aim of achieving “levels of air quality that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on, and risks to human health and environment”.
Although in a first stage the costs for the package implementation have been overrestimated - they do not consider non-technical measures to abate air pollution and do not take into account the new EU energy targets proposed by the Commission at the beginning of 2014 - a recent study commissioned by the European Parliament and presented on the 6th of November in the Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) shows that if this link is considered €2.2 billion less will be spent on measures to tackle air pollution per year and 2.2 million life-years will be gained annually.
Several Members of the European Parliament and of the Committee of Regions emphasised the need to keep the clean air package on the table in an event organised at the European Parliament on the 19th of November by the Air-quality Initiative of Regions and hosted by the rapporteur of the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive Girling (UK, ECR). Both EU and local politicians called on more ambitious legislations and binding emission reductions targets for 2025.
2014 Air Quality report
That event served the European Environment Agency (EEA) to present the report 2014 Air Quality in Europe. According to the revealed data, more than 95% of the urban population is exposed to unsafe levels of key pollutants and even short-term exposure might pose a serious threat to the city dwellers’ health. Furthermore, scientific research shows that all air pollutants may be more harmful than previously thought. Air pollution’s effect on respiratory illnesses and heart disease is widely known but new studies have shown that it can also affect health in other ways: from foetal development to a disease appearing in adult life.
United Kingdom pressured to clean up air pollution
Whereas the European decision-making bodies are getting ready for the debates on the new Clean Air Package aimed to improve the air we breathe, the European Court of Justice has taken action on the United Kingdom which has failed to comply with the existing air pollution limit values. By the Court’s decision, the UK government will be forced to urgently clean up illegal air pollution in British cities. The European court ruled that the UK’s Supreme Court now has jurisdiction over the matter and must order the Government to take action to meet the legal limits in a short time frame. The UK Government is also facing a separate £300 million fine for failing to meet the EU’s air quality directive on pollution.
2014 Air Quality report
That event served the European Environment Agency (EEA) to present the report 2014 Air Quality in Europe. According to the revealed data, more than 95% of the urban population is exposed to unsafe levels of key pollutants and even short-term exposure might pose a serious threat to the city dwellers’ health. Furthermore, scientific research shows that all air pollutants may be more harmful than previously thought. Air pollution’s effect on respiratory illnesses and heart disease is widely known but new studies have shown that it can also affect health in other ways: from foetal development to a disease appearing in adult life.
United Kingdom pressured to clean up air pollution
Whereas the European decision-making bodies are getting ready for the debates on the new Clean Air Package aimed to improve the air we breathe, the European Court of Justice has taken action on the United Kingdom which has failed to comply with the existing air pollution limit values. By the Court’s decision, the UK government will be forced to urgently clean up illegal air pollution in British cities. The European court ruled that the UK’s Supreme Court now has jurisdiction over the matter and must order the Government to take action to meet the legal limits in a short time frame. The UK Government is also facing a separate £300 million fine for failing to meet the EU’s air quality directive on pollution.