Industrial releases of air pollutants that are damaging to human health and the environment decreased between 2010 and 2019 in Europe, with emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g. CO 2 and sulphur oxides) and other pollutants (e.g. nitrogen oxides, dust and heavy metals) all declining significantly. The value that industry generated for the European economy during this period increased, however, in line with the goal of the EU industrial strategy: to support the competitiveness of European industry while driving a reduction in emissions, the use of natural resources and the production of waste.
Between 2004 and 2019, emissions from large combustion plants in the EU decreased: SO 2 by 89%, nitrogen oxides by 60% and dust by 88%. Declines in emissions and improvements in environmental performance were largely driven by European policy, which sets legally binding emission limit values. The amount of fossil fuels used decreased by 23%, as energy production shifts to climate-friendly sources. Stricter emission limit values and policies aimed at increasing the use of renewable or cleaner fuels are expected to drive further declines in combustion plant emissions in coming years.
Ground-level ozone adversely affects not only human health but also vegetation and ecosystems across Europe, leading to decreased crop yields and forest growth, and loss of biodiversity. Much of Europe’s lands are exposed to ozone levels above the threshold and long-term objective values set in the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) for the protection of vegetation. For instance, after a 6-year period (2009-2014) of relatively low ozone values, the fraction of arable land exposed to levels above the AAQD threshold increased to 30 % in 2015, falling to 19 % in 2016, before increasing again to 26 % in 2017 and 45 % in 2018.
EU legislation has led to improvements in air quality, with the percentage of urban citizens exposed to pollutant levels above standards set to protect human health falling between 2000 and 2018. However, poor air quality remains a problem: in 2018, 34 % of citizens were exposed to O 3 and 15 % to PM 10 above EU limit values. This is mainly due to emissions from transport and buildings, but also from agriculture and industry. Without radical changes to mobility, energy and food systems and industry, it is unlikely that air quality targets will be met in the near future.
Between 1990 and 2017, the transport sector significantly reduced emissions of the following air pollutants: carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds (both by around 87 %), sulphur oxides (66 %) and nitrogen oxides (40 %). Since 2000, a reduction in particulate matter emissions (44 % for PM 2.5 and 35 % for PM 10 ) has occurred.
Emissions from road transport have declined less than was anticipated over the last two decades and continue to decrease (except emissions of sulphur oxides in recent years). In 2017, emissions were lower than in the previous year: emissions of nitrogen oxides decreased by 3 % and those of carbon monoxide by 3.2 %, those of PM 10 and PM 2.5 decreased by 1.4 % and 3.6 %, respectively. Emissions of sulphur oxides increased by 2.7 % in 2017, compared with 2016, but it is still less than 1 % of what have been emitted in 1990.
Emissions of air pollutants have decreased for all transport modes since 1990, except for shipping, for which nitrogen oxide emissions have increased, and aviation, for which emissions of all pollutants (except non-methane volatile organic compounds) have increased.
Across the EEA-33 countries, emissions of lead (Pb) decreased by 93 %, mercury (Hg) by 72 % and cadmium (Cd) by 64 % from 1990.
The majority of the decrease in Pb emissions had occurred by 2004, mainly as a result of the phase out of leaded petrol across Europe.
Since 1990, the two sectors contributing most to the decrease in Hg emissions have been 'Energy use in industry' and 'Industrial processes and product use'.
The industry sector has accounted for 60 % of Cd emission reductions since 1990.
Since 1990, emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) decreased in the EEA-33 countries, e.g. hexachlorobenzene (HCB) decreased by 95 %, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by 75 %, dioxins and furans by around 70 % and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by 83 %.
The majority of countries report that POP emissions fell during the period 1990 to 2017.
In 2017, the most significant sources of emissions included the ‘Commercial, institutional and households’ and ‘Industrial processes and product use’ sectors.
In EEA countries, ammonia emissions have decreased by 18 % (23 % in the EU-28) overall since 1990, but have been continuously increasing since 2014.
Since 1990, emissions of both nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds decreased by more than a half, with emission of nitrogen oxides decreasing by 57 % and non-methane volatile organic compounds by 54% in EEA countries (61 % and 58 % in the EU-28).
Emissions of fine particulate matter decreased by almost one third (28 %) in both EEA countries and in the EU-28 from 2000.
Since 1990, level of emissions of sulphur oxides strongly decreased by 82 % in EEA countries (91 % in the EU-28).
There was no discernible trend in European ozone concentrations between 2003 and 2012, in terms of the annual mean of the daily maximum eight hour average measured at any type of station.
It is difficult to attribute observed ozone exceedences, or changes therein, to individual causes such as climate change.
Future climate change is expected to increase ozone concentrations, but this increase should not exceed 5 µg/m 3 by the middle of the century and would therefore likely be outweighed by reductions in ozone levels due to planned future emissions reductions.
End of the century projections for the effects of climate change involve an increase of up to 8 µg/m 3 in ozone concentrations .
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