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Policy Document

Directive (EU) 2016/2284, reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants

Policy Document
1 min read
The directive is amending Directive 2003/35/EC (providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment) and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. It entered into force at the end of 2016 and aims at compliance with the 2012 amended Gothenburg Protocol. In July 2017, the EU ratified the 2012 amendments to the 1999 protocol.

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Related indicators

Indicator Specification Exceedance of air quality standards in Europe This indicator shows the fraction of the EU-28 urban population that is potentially exposed to ambient air concentrations of six key pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 , NO 2 , SO 2  and BaP) that are in excess of the  EU  limit or target values (EU, 2004, 2008) set for the protection of human health, and to concentrations of these pollutants in excess of the 2005 WHO Guidelines (WHO, 2000, 2006). The indicator is based on measurements of air pollutants as reported under the Air Quality Directives (EU, 2004, 2008) and the Decisions on the exchange of information (EU, 1997, 2011).
Indicator Specification
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Exceedances of air quality limit values due to traffic This indicator compares concentrations of pollutants at background stations with those at traffic stations. This comparison provides an estimate of the increased levels of air pollution to which the population is exposed in areas with relatively high levels of road traffic. It also provides a measure of the impact of the technical and non-technical measures adopted to reduce the road transport sector's contribution to observed pollutant concentrations.  The indicator makes use of official data submitted to the EEA’s Air Quality e-Reporting database.
Indicator Specification
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Exposure of Europe's ecosystems to acidification, eutrophication and ozone This indicator shows the negative impact of air pollution on ecosystems and vegetation in Europe. In particular, it shows: ecosystem areas with exceedances of the critical loads for acidification and eutrophication; and exposure of areas covered with vegetation (crops and forests) to ground-level ozone, the latest available rural concentrations of ozone and the annual variation of rural concentrations of ozone  at the European level . In the case of acidification and eutrophication, the area as well as the magnitude of critical load exceedances in ecosystems are shown. A critical load is a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants, below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur according to present knowledge (ICP on Modelling and Mapping, 2015; UNECE, 2015). It represents the upper limit of one or more pollutants deposited on the Earth's surface that an ecosystem, such as a lake or a forest, can tolerate without its function (e.g. the nutrient nitrogen cycle) or its structure (e.g. with respect to plant species' richness) being damaged. A positive difference between the deposition loads of acidifying and/or eutrophying airborne pollutants and the critical loads is termed an 'exceedance'. In the case of ozone, the risk is estimated by reference to either a target value and a long-term objective, or to the 'critical level' for ozone for each location. The target value and the long-term objective are levels fixed with the aim of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on the environment. For ozone, the critical level is a concentration in the atmosphere, above which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials, may occur according to present knowledge (ICP on Modelling and Mapping, 2015; UNECE, 2015).   
Indicator Specification Emissions of air pollutants from large combustion plants This indicator tracks trends since 2004 in emissions of SO 2 , NO x  and dust, as well as the environmental performance of LCPs. LCPs comprise combustion plants with a total rated thermal input equal to or greater than 50 MW. The geographical coverage comprises the EU-28 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The temporal coverage is 2004-2015 (most recent year with officially reported LCP emissions and fuel use; EEA LCP database v1.0 (see Data sources ))
Indicator Specification Emissions of air pollutants from transport This indicator is based on the assessment of emissions trends of CO, NO x , NMVOCs, SO x and primary particulates. 

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/policy-documents/f0a7-directive-eu-2016-2284 or scan the QR code.

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