Industrial pollutant releases to air in Europe

Industrial releases of air pollutants damaging to human health and the environment decreased between 2010 and 2022 in Europe. Emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide (CO 2 )) and other pollutants (e.g. sulphur oxides (SO x ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), particulate matter (PM 10 ) and heavy metals) are all declining significantly. The value that industry generated for the European economy during this period increased, therefore has an increase in efficiency in terms of the ratio of emissions generated and the value output of the sector. Despite a small rebound in 2021, as a consequence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, most recent data confirm an overall downward trend.

Figure 1. Industrial releases of pollutants to air and economic activity in the EU-27

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The activity of European industry results in the release of pollutants to air. These include greenhouse gases, such as CO₂ and acidifying pollutants (e.g. sulphur oxides (SO_x)). Other pollutants released that damage human health and the environment are nitrogen oxides (NO_x), particulate matter (in this case PM₁₀), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and heavy metals including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg).

To reduce pollutant emissions, the use of natural resources and the generation of waste, EU industrial policy aims to drive a transition to a strong, climate neutral industry based on circular material flows. Monitoring the release of air pollutants is key to tracking progress towards achieving these goals.

Industrial emissions to air are reported under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) , Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action (for CO₂) and the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Regulation (E-PRTR, recently rebranded as European Industrial Emission Portal) which covers releases from large industrial facilities involved only in certain activities.

Industrial releases of SO_x and PM₁₀decreased about 70% between 2010 and 2022 in the European Union (EU). Other emissions decreased to a lesser extent: heavy metals (Cd, Hg and Pb) by 58%, NO_x by 48%, NMVOC by 35% and CO₂ by 25%. During the same period, the value that industry generated for the economy — as measured by gross added value (GVA) — increased, indicating that European industry has become less emission intensive, as the ratio of air pollutant releases to the production of industrial goods decreased. GVA in 2022 confirmed the rebound effect after the COVID-19 pandemic, while emissions went back on a downwards trajectory which confirms the overall trend.

The decrease in industrial pollutant emissions to air can be partly attributed to European regulation, such as the EU Emissions Trading System and the Industrial Emissions Directive. Improvements in energy efficiency and abatement technologies, and the relocation of various heavy-polluting and energy-intensive manufacturing industries (such as textile or metal production) outside Europe also contribute.

Figure 2. Change of pollutant releases into air in EU-27 countries in the period 2010-2022

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Since 2010, while recovering from the impact of the economic downturn of 2008 – 2009, emission levels from the industrial sector decreased at a steady rate in most pollutants. Industrial emissions are very complex in terms of substances to consider, their effects on health and the environment and the very different realities across European countries.

Some patterns can be identified. Emissions of pollutants associated primarily to activities that include combustion processes (e.g. electricity producers, iron and steel works, cement plants) are generally decreasing across the board and refers to emissions of CO₂, NO_x, SO_x and PM₁₀. This trend is consistent with the improvement of environmental performance of these industries and shifts of fuels (with a progressive abandonment of coal). Evidence points to EU policy as a key driver of these positive developments as significant emissions reductions (over 50% since 2010) occurred in almost all countries that generally joined the EU.

Heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb) are emitted in relatively lower amounts and have a naturally variable trend over time. There are several reasons for this, some related to the reporting mechanism (which includes estimations and operates with minimum thresholds) and others related to actual developments in each industry.

Supporting information

Definition

This indicator tracks trends of industrial emissions of selected air pollutants. The indicator includes releases of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most significant greenhouse gas, acidifying pollutants (sulphur oxides (SO_x), nitrogen oxides (NO_x)), and other pollutants that damage human health and the environment, such as particulate matter (PM₁₀), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and heavy metals (cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg)). These trends are presented together with the trend of gross value added (GVA) by industry, as an indicator of the economic contribution of the sector.

The aggregated EU-27 trends feature in Figure 1, while country specific trend changes are offered in Figure 2.

The geographical coverage comprises the 27-EU Member States (EU-27) (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden).

The temporal coverage is 2010-2022. Data were reported to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR).

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Queries are applied to the Industrial Emissions Database (where the E-PRTR is included) to extract and aggregate emissions reported individually for each operator in Europe to produce figure 1 and 2. Emissions are aggregated at country and European level, indexed to 2010 levels and a trend line is then constructed.

For Figure 1, the gross added value is indexed to 2010 levels and a trend line constructed.

Gap filling was performed to complete data missing for some countries in the last years of the timeline. Future versions will account to more complete datasets as countries resolve these issues as time passes by.

While E-PRTR contains data since 2007, the earlier years are known as incomplete and of lesser quality. This has led to the indicator showing data as from 2010.

Methodology for gap filling

Slovakia did not report any data from 2018, Malta did not report any data from 2019 and Czechia did not report data for 2022. In these cases, the most recent data available have been used to populate the emissions trend.

Policy/environmental relevance

Anthropogenic air emissions contribute to a wide range of detrimental effects for the environment and human health. While many human activities contribute to these emissions, industry is a very significant sources. This indicator presents substances where industry contribution is particularly relevant.

The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) require industry operators to submit, among other data, values for releases of pollutants to the atmosphere across 91 pollutants.

Air pollution and air quality are regulated through various mechanisms in the EU. Industrial air emissions operate with a dedicated policy, Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions. This EU legislation imposes a case-by-case permit for large industrial operators which contains emission limit values to air. These emissions, when above certain annual load thresholds, are to be reported to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (e-PRTR).

This indicator is useful to capture how the industrial emission policy contributes to a progressive reduction of air releases in Europe. Due to the way the reporting mechanisms are designed, this indicator reflects emissions from large operators and only when annual releases are above the legally established thresholds. In other words, the indicator tracks emissions significant at a European scale and does not cover emissions from smaller operators.

Targets

No target is specified.

Accuracy and uncertaintiesData sources and providers

Metadata

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Industrial pollutant releases to air in Europe

Figure 1. Industrial releases of pollutants to air and economic activity in the EU-27

Figure 2. Change of pollutant releases into air in EU-27 countries in the period 2010-2022

Supporting information

Methodology for indicator calculation

Methodology for gap filling

Targets

Methodology uncertainty

Data sets uncertainty

Rationale uncertainty

Metadata

References and footnotes