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Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from large industrial sites in Europe cost society between €277 and €433 billion, in 2017, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis, published today. About half of the annual cost is caused by just 211 facilities, around 2 % of the largest industrial sites in Europe. The European Green Deal and the Zero pollution action plan are opportunities to improve the situation.
Concentrations of key air pollutants remain too high in most European countries. According to the European Environment Agency’s official data, published today, most European Union (EU) Member States exceed at least one or more of the EU’s legal limits for pollutants in ambient air in 2019.
The European Union (EU) as a whole respected emission ceilings for four key pollutants in 2019, including nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide and ammonia, according to a new European Environment Agency briefing. Nevertheless, Member States still need to make deeper cuts in emissions to achieve 2020-29 and 2030 reduction commitments, especially for nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and ammonia.
New European city air quality viewer allows you to check long term air pollution levels where you live
17 Jun 2021Air pollution is a serious problem in many European cities, posing a real risk to health. Today, the European Environment Agency (EEA) launched the European city air quality viewer. You can check how the air quality has been over the past two years in the city where you live and compare it with other cities across Europe.
Average emissions from new passenger cars in Europe increased for the third consecutive year in 2019, reaching 122.3 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g CO2/km), according to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) final data. Data about newly registered vans show a stable trend. New EEA data set baseline for emission reductions in heavy-duty vehicles.
More than 100 schools from 8 European countries participated in the citizen science CleanAir@School inititative, organised by the European European Agency (EEA) and the European Network of the Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies. The results of the initiative, published today, describe how schoolchildren measured pollution levels, learned about air quality and promoted actions for cleaner air.
National measures to cut air pollution would benefit from stronger links with climate action
10 Dec 2020European Union (EU) Member States report on their policies and measures to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions separately. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, reveals that Member States identify links to climate action in about one third of their reported actions planned to reduce air pollution.
Demand for and use of climate-warming fluorinated gases continues to drop across the European Union, according to the latest annual update of EU progress in phasing down the use of F-gases, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Industry is substituting these F-gases with more climate-friendly products.
Marked improvement in Europe's air quality over past decade, fewer deaths linked to pollution
23 Nov 2020Better air quality has led to a significant reduction of premature deaths over the past decade in Europe. However, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) latest official data show that almost all Europeans still suffer from air pollution, leading to about 400,000 premature deaths across the continent.
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions imposed to fight the spread of the disease have provided some short-term positive impacts on Europe’s environment, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today. These include temporary improvements in air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower levels of noise pollution. However, the assessment also stresses that there have been negative consequences such as increased use of single-use plastics, and that ways out of the pandemic should focus on reshaping our unsustainable production and consumption systems to achieve long-term environmental benefits.
Moving towards zero pollution in Europe
15 Oct 2020What is pollution and how does it affect us and the environment? Europe is taking action to reduce pollution and, as part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission put forward a zero-pollution ambition for Europe. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report, published today, looks at the pollution challenge in Europe from different angles as well as opportunities to clean up and prevent pollution.
Air and noise pollution, the impacts of climate change such as heatwaves, and exposure to dangerous chemicals cause ill health in Europe. Poor quality environments contribute to 13 % (one in every eight) of deaths according to a major assessment on health and environment released today by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Emissions of most harmful air pollutants dropped in 2018, marking EU progress under UN Convention
23 Jul 2020Emissions of the five most harmful air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3) reduced across the European Union between 2017 and 2018 according to updated data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The data is from the annual EU emission inventory report sent to the UNECE Air Convention (Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution - CLRTAP).
In 2018, the European Union met all air pollution limit ceilings set for total emissions of the four key pollutants monitored under EU rules. Emissions of ammonia levelled off after five years of increases, according to updated data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today.
The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) data confirm large decreases in air pollutant concentrations — of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in particular — largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures. Reductions of around half have been seen in some locations. The EEA’s data are measured hourly, on the ground, at about 3,000 monitoring stations across European countries.
Citizen science projects on air quality produce useful information and raise public awareness
12 Mar 2020Air pollution is the biggest environmental health threat in Europe and more and more people are taking action to claim their right to clean air. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report provides an overview of low-cost devices that citizens and NGOs can use to measure local air quality.
The European Union remains on track in meeting the goal to phase-down the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), according to updated data published by the European Environment Agency today.
The growing use of electric scooters and ride-hailing services is transforming how we move in urban centres — but walking, cycling and public transport remain the best way to improve sustainable mobility in cities, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. A separate EEA briefing on the environmental and climate impacts of transport finds that emissions of greenhouse gases from transport continue to increase, as demand for mobility across Europe keeps growing.
Renewables crucial for EU decarbonisation, but technology choices matter for air quality
19 Dec 2019Growth in renewable energy use since 2005 has been instrumental in reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union (EU), according to a briefing published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Many renewables, including those sourced from wind, solar geothermal energy or heat pumps, are also effective in cutting air pollutant emissions but the results are mixed when biomass replaces fossil fuel burning, especially in households.
Cutting air pollution in Europe would prevent early deaths, improve productivity and curb climate change
16 Oct 2019Europe’s air is getting cleaner but persistent pollution, especially in cities, still damages people’s health and the economy. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new analysis on air quality shows that exposure to air pollution caused about 400,000 premature deaths in the European Union (EU) in 2016.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/highlights/highlights_topic or scan the QR code.
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