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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.
Better 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.
What 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 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.
Air 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.
Growth 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.
Europe’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.
The European Union (EU) has achieved its goals to phase out ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report shows that in 2018 the EU again destroyed or exported more ozone-depleting substances than it produced or imported.
European Union (EU) Member States have made only mixed progress in reducing emissions of the most harmful air pollutants, 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 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP).
A decade after its launch, the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) continues to prove its value. The online register is a widely recognised tool, used to assess pollution trends and evaluate the effectiveness of EU legislation in various areas, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published today.
While emissions of most air pollutants remain on a downward trend across the European Union, emissions of ammonia from the agricultural sector continue to rise, posing a challenge for EU Member States in meeting EU air pollution limits, according to updated data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today.
Emissions of key air pollutants from large combustion plants have significantly decreased in the European Union (EU) over past years. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published today, the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive regulating this sector was the main reason behind these major emission cuts from 2004 to 2015. Understanding the reasons for past policy successes is essential to inform how new policies can be designed to ensure that Europe meets its health, environment and climate targets.
Air pollution is a growing concern in Europe and globally. CleanAir@School initiative is putting focus on air quality around Europe’s schools by involving children, parents and teachers in measuring pollutant concentrations. The project is a joint initiative of the European Environment Agency and the European Network of the Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies.
Implementing EU air quality legislation to protect human health and the environment from pollution can be demanding for countries and cities. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has worked together with a number of European cities to better understand policy implementation challenges. The EEA’s new report, published today, summarises key findings on the cities’ progress over the past five years and highlights on-going challenges for improving air quality at the local level.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/highlights/highlights_topic or scan the QR code.
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