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Costs of air pollution from European industrial facilities 2008-2012

Publication Created 20 Nov 2014 Published 24 Nov 2014
1 min read
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An updated assessment of the damage cost estimates to health and the environment caused by pollutants emitted to air from Europe's largest industrial facilities.
Downloading: PDF document icon Costs-air-pollution_Tech20-2014_final.pdf — PDF document, 2.98 MB (3120654 bytes)
Publication Created 20 Nov 2014 Published 24 Nov 2014
1 min read
An updated assessment of the damage cost estimates to health and the environment caused by pollutants emitted to air from Europe's largest industrial facilities.

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The challenge of reducing industrial pollution Industrial pollution in Europe is decreasing, thanks to a blend of regulation, developments in manufacturing and environmental initiatives. However, industry continues to pollute and moving towards zero pollution in this sector is an ambitious challenge.
How much does industrial air pollution cost Europe? Air pollution has negative impacts on human health and the environment, and industry is one of the main contributors to air pollution in Europe. How do we estimate the costs of industrial air pollution on society? What do the numbers tell us? We asked these questions to Martin Adams, who leads the group working on air pollution, transport and noise at the European Environment Agency.
Industrial air pollution has high economic cost Air pollution from Europe's largest industrial facilities cost society at least €59 billion, and possibly as much as €189 billion in 2012, according to an assessment published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Half of these damage costs were caused by just 1 % of the industrial plants.

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A decade of industrial pollution data The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) ensures public access to information on pollutant releases to the environment and off-site transfers from Europe’s largest industrial facilities. More than 34 000 facilities, across 33 European countries, report every year to this inventory. A decade after its launch, the E-PRTR harbours data on releases and transfers of 91 pollutants across 65 economic activities. It enables citizens and stakeholders to learn about pollution in all corners of Europe, who the top polluters are and whether pollutant emission trends are improving.
Greening the power sector: benefits of an ambitious implementation of Europe's environment and climate policies Europe's electricity generation still relies largely on fossil fuels as an energy source and thus contributes to emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), dust and nitrogen oxides (NOx), among other pollutants. A new EEA assessment shows that with an ambitious implementation of new requirements under the EU Industrial Emissions Directive, Member States can significantly reduce pollutant emissions and thus minimise their potential harmful effects on the environment and human health. There is also a close link between future reductions in pollutant emissions and EU climate and energy policy, which drives growth in renewables and the switch towards cleaner fuels in the remaining power plants. A more fundamental restructuring of the power sector is, however, needed to meet the EU's long-term decarbonisation targets.
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Damage costs by industrial sector Health and environmental costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe.
Damage costs by pollutant Health and environmental costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe.
Total damage costs in 2012 Health and environmental costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe.
Most harmful facilities Health and environmental costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe.
Damage costs by country Health and environmental costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe. Countries such as Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, which have many large facilities, contribute the most to total damage costs. However, the ordering of countries changes significantly if damage costs are corrected to reflect the output of national economies. Emissions from a number of eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia and Poland) then become more important.

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/costs-of-air-pollution-2008-2012 or scan the QR code.

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