Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Europe that protects: clean air for all’

(COM(2018) 330 final)

(2019/C 110/21)

Rapporteur:

Octavian Cătălin ALBU

Referral	European Commission, 18/06/2018
Legal basis	Article 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Plenary Assembly decision	19.6.2018
Section responsible	Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment
Adopted in section	27.11.2018
Adopted at plenary	12.12.2018
Plenary session No	539
Outcome of vote (for/against/abstentions)	129/0/3

1.   Conclusions and recommendations

1.1.

In the last 30 years, air quality in the European Union (EU) has increased as a result of relevant policies enacted across the Union. However, there is still much to be done, with authorised values for the main categories of air pollutants recorded as being exceeded on many occasions. The EESC urges the Member States to cooperate closely, as this issue is critical for Europeans’ health. The EESC feels that it is important to sound the alarm regarding air quality and environmental conditions.

1.2.

The EESC considers that it is imperative to reduce pollution in the commercial, institutional, household and transport sectors. The institutions and Member States must set a good example here, and more support programmes must be set up to help individuals shift to clean, modern and more energy efficient forms of heating.

1.3.

Since transport is one of the main sources of air pollution, the EESC welcomes the clean mobility package that includes several initiatives that, as well as lowering CO2 emissions, will also decrease local and regional pollution.

1.4.

The additional legislative measures proposed by the European Commission to remedy certain problems, such as Dieselgate, or action taken against Member States which have failed to comply with current rules on air pollution are a step in the right direction and the EESC endorses this approach.

1.5.

The EESC firmly believes that the new environmental and transport regulations must be flanked by economic support measures to promote innovation and the development of new clean technologies, such as fuel cells, electric cars and alternative heating and ventilation systems.

1.6.

The EESC is concerned that although progress with regard to reducing air pollution has been made in the agricultural sector, it is not enough. The EESC recommends that in future, the common agricultural policy, together with other financial and investment instruments, should focus more on initiatives to reduce the environmental impact and be more consistent and coherent with regard to aid granted to farmers with a view to implementing programmes which aim to meet this goal. One good idea here is cooperatives, where farmers can generate electricity from biogas produced from farming waste.

1.7.

International cooperation is crucial for combating pollution and climate change, and the EESC welcomes the broad consensus among Member States on meeting the Paris Agreement objectives. The exchange of good practices in this area and the Green Diplomacy Network are very important. Furthermore, specific measures are needed to reduce pollutants in the Member States in order to meet the Agreement’s targets.

1.8.

The EESC urges the Member States to cooperate closely, as this issue is critical for Europeans’ health. The EESC also recommends that the Member States and the European Commission work as closely as possible with civil society and the representatives of local and regional civic organisations to develop and carry out environmental protection programmes as well as campaigns to educate, inform and raise awareness among the general public regarding air quality.

2.   Introduction

2.1.

In the last twenty to thirty years, air quality in the EU has improved significantly thanks to specific policies implemented by the EU and the Member States in this area. These policies have sought to achieve a level of air quality which does not harm or pose a significant threat to human health and the environment. As a result, although the EU’s GDP has increased, the quantity of pollutants in the atmosphere has fallen by 8 % for ammonia and 72 % for sulphur oxides (1).

2.2.

Air quality is a determining factor in public health. The biggest sources of air pollution are particulate matter (PM10 and PM2,5) and ground level ozone, which is directly affected by nitrogen oxides (NOx) released into the atmosphere. According to the World Health Organisation, exposure to air pollution in the form of fine particles is responsible for 8 % of all deaths caused by lung cancer and 3 % of all deaths due to cardiovascular disease (2). These causes are responsible for over 400 000 premature deaths in the EU each year (3).

2.3.

In view of this, there is growing concern among EU citizens regarding air pollution levels (4). As a result, by means of legislation, the EU and the Member States have set the goal of achieving a level of air quality that does not harm people’s health or the environment, and are gradually reducing harmful emissions through full compliance with current EU legislation on air quality.

2.4.

EU policies in this field are based around three pillars: — the first pillar comprises the ambient air quality standards, to be attained by all Member States from — depending on the pollutant — 2005 or 2010, — the second pillar consists of national emission reduction targets, which were recently revised and which have to be met by 2020 and 2030 and include an additional pollutant: fine particulate matter (PM2,5), — the third pillar comprises emissions standards for key sources of pollution: vehicles, ships and industrial and energy plants. Following the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, the package of Real Driving Emissions rules was established, and the Commission has proposed new lower CO2 emission standards for new cars, vans and heavy-duty vehicles.

2.5.

According to the 2017 EEA report on air quality in Europe, the main sources of air pollution in Europe are transport (road and otherwise), combustion for commercial/institutional/household use, energy generation, industrial processes, the agricultural sector and waste (5).

2.5.1.

As regards its contribution to total pollutant emissions, road transport is responsible for 39 % of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 29 % of black carbon, 20 % of carbon monoxide (CO) and 11 % of particulate matter PM10 and PM2,5. Under the clean mobility package, the Commission is therefore aiming to establish new CO2 emission standards for 2025 and 2030. New technologies — such as fuel cells, alternative fuels and the infrastructure for them — are promoted by revising the regulations (6) and through action plans (7). The new clean mobility package framework also recommends integrating the use of trains and lorries in order to boost efficiency (8), including energy efficiency, and promotes the development of long-distance coach routes in order to reduce emissions and traffic congestion (9).

2.5.2.

Combustion for commercial/institutional/household use has been responsible for the bulk of pollution (42 % and 57 %) from particulate matter (PM2,5 and PM10), carbon monoxide (CO) and black carbon (BC) particles, a major pollutant derived from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Pollution values for this sector have been more or less constant from 2000 to 2015.

2.5.3.

Efforts have been made to reduce pollutant emissions (59 % for SO2 and 19 % for NOx of the total) from the electricity and heating generation sectors by developing and extending alternative energy sources and co-generation energy systems, modernising and increasing the performance levels of generation plants, optimising the energy performance of generation processes, making buildings more energy efficient, and phasing out the combustion of fossil fuels and replacing them with methane gas.

2.5.4.

Measures to reduce emissions from industrial plants (50 % for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and 17 % for PM10 particles) have been taken which are in line and comply with the rules in force at European level. In order to prevent and monitor pollution, any industrial installation must have a permit establishing limit values for pollutants and the necessary environmental protection measures.

2.5.5.

Given that the agricultural sector produces 95 % of ammonia (NH3) emissions and 52 % of methane (CH4) emissions, reducing these is paramount. Measures to mitigate such emissions include agronomic measures (balanced use of nitrogen on farms, promoting ground cover and vegetable crops on arable land in order to make the soil more fertile), livestock measures (storing manure in closed spaces and using it in biogas facilities), energy measures (using biomass for heating, developing photovoltaic installations and reducing consumption of traditional fuels and electricity) and agri-environmental measures (boosting farmers’ professional skills and encouraging them to adopt practices which generate a lower level of emissions).

2.6.

The EESC flags up its concern about the state of the environment. The EESC has already sounded the alarm regarding this (10) and emphasised that ‘more efforts need to be made to prevent environmental damage from arising in the first place and that a prevention strategy should always be preferred over a cure’ (11).

3.   General comments

3.1.

The EESC welcomes the measures taken by the EU to meet the objective of a level of air quality which is not harmful to people or the environment, but considers that these efforts need to be scaled up dramatically at both EU and national levels as the results achieved to date are not fully satisfactory. Although progress has been made in reducing emissions of pollutants, air quality still affects public health (12).

3.2.

The EESC is concerned that currently, across broad swathes of the EU, the atmospheric concentration of particulate matter exceeds limit values. Daily limit values have been exceeded in 19 % of monitoring stations for PM10, and in 6 % of these stations for PM2,5 particulates. Regrettably in 2015, 19 % of the EU’s urban population was exposed to levels exceeding the limit values for PM10 (up over the previous year) and 7 % for PM2,5 (down over the previous year).

3.3.

The EESC would like to point out that in Central and Eastern Europe, millions of private residences rely on burning wood and coal for heating. According to the World Health Organisation, in Central and Eastern Europe this practice contributes now and will contribute in future to PM2,5 pollution, which is still at 2010-2015 levels (13). More support measures are needed to engage the general public in shifting to cleaner forms of heating.

3.4.

The EESC is also concerned that annual concentration values of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were exceeded to a significant extent in 22 Member States and in 10 % of monitoring stations, with levels more than twice the authorised values recorded in districts of a number of cities.

3.5.

The EESC would point out that air quality is crucial for both people and business (14). European and national decision-makers therefore need to take practical steps for establishing and enforcing a legislative framework in this field.

3.6.

The EESC recognises that in order to reduce the level of pollutants emitted by the commercial, institutional and household sectors, Member States, with support from the Commission, must decisively support and carry out improvements in buildings’ energy performance, improve the performance of electricity and heating plants, extend and modernise urban centralised heating networks and support alternative air conditioning systems. One example here is the head office of the European Central Bank, which uses an innovative and environmentally friendly heating and ventilation system.

3.7.

The EESC points out that indoor air pollution must not be overlooked. The quality of the air we breathe indoors is crucial for our health, particularly for vulnerable people. Smoking, cooking, damp, ventilation systems, candles, cleaning agents in the form of detergents, waxes or varnishes, various building materials — all of these can become major sources of indoor air pollution. A consistent policy on healthy buildings is therefore needed.

3.8.

The EESC considers that the Member States and the Commission need to devise and implement a new concept of urban development, focusing partly on implementing an environmentally friendly transport system, using incentives to encourage electric or hybrid forms of transport, using IT applications to warn residents when authorised values for air pollution are exceeded and supporting the extension of green areas in towns in order to significantly improve air quality.

3.9.

The EESC considers that public access to information and data on air quality is an important factor in combating air pollution (15). Information and education campaigns can raise public awareness of the danger of air pollution and the impact of action taken by individuals. It is important to acknowledge and welcome any actions to promote clean air by mothers concerned by the impact of pollution on their children’s health. These women regard any restrictions on the use of the environment as a curtailment of their civil rights.

3.10.

The EESC welcomes the work of NGOs and individuals that have taken legal action to call on the national authorities to roll out additional measures to reduce pollution. In countries such as the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and the UK, the courts have ruled in favour of the people bringing these suits (16).

3.11.

The EESC believes that de-carbonisation strategies and renewable energy targets must be developed so as to have a real impact on the environment, without suffocating the Member States’ economic development.

4.   Specific comments

4.1.

The Commission attaches great importance to upholding compliance with the standards for pollutants emitted by motor vehicles, particularly in the wake of the Dieselgate scandal, and checks that the relevant obligations imposed by EU legislation are met.

4.2.

The EESC supports the Commission, which has asked the Member States to analyse all possible modifications and improvements with a view to bringing the emissions generated by these vehicles under current regulatory thresholds and, if they do not meet these conditions, to propose that vehicles affected by this scandal be withdrawn on a mandatory and/or voluntary basis.

4.3.

The EESC endorses the Commission’s initiative of triggering non-compliance procedures against 16 Member States as regards PM10 particle pollution, and against 13 Member States for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, and recommends that these states adopt measures as rapidly as possible to reduce or eliminate periods in which pollution limit values are exceeded.

4.4.

The EESC also welcomes the Commission’s decision to bring three Member States (Hungary, Italy and Romania) before the European Court of Justice for failure to comply with limit values for PM10 particulate matter pollution, and another three Member States (France, Germany and the UK) for failure to comply with limit values for NO2 pollution. These six Member States failed to propose in good time specific and effective measures to bring pollution back down to authorised levels.

4.5.

Given the high levels of pollution caused by motor vehicles, the EESC welcomes the measures proposed by the Commission to reduce emissions, set out in the mobility package, such as the Clean Vehicles directive, new CO2 standards for both cars and heavy vehicles, an action plan for alternative fuels infrastructure and a battery initiative. These measures are also sure to have the effect of reducing the emissions discussed in this opinion.

4.6.

The EESC welcomes the new rules proposed by the Commission with regard to significantly increasing the quality and independence of the procedures involved in type approval and testing vehicles before they are placed on the market, and to more effective checks on vehicles already on the market. The regulation laying down these rules, set to enter into force in September 2020, upholds the ban on defeat devices, seeks to reduce the pollutant values of vehicles and establishes the framework for the shift to low and no emission vehicles.

4.7.

Given the high levels of ammonia (NH3) and methane (CH4) pollution from the agricultural sector (17), active measures must be taken to reduce these. The EESC considers that in future, the common agricultural policy must focus more on assisting individual farmers and farming cooperatives to reduce emissions, by ensuring easier access to European banking institution financing in order to implement programmes which may lead to lower emissions of pollutants. In addition, future CAP rural development programmes should include agri-environmental measures which seek to reduce these emissions.

4.8.

The EESC is concerned that although measures have been implemented in the agricultural sector, between 2000 and 2015 NH3 and CH4 emissions fell by only 7 %, despite farmers’ efforts. The increase in the number of farm animals led to a 6 % EU-wide increase in non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), generated in particular by manure, although emissions per kilogram of meat fell.

4.9.

Atmospheric pollution is a cross-border issue, and so the EESC considers that it is imperative that the Member States act in a coordinated fashion on the basis of targets and principles agreed across the EU, while also complying with the subsidiarity principle. There is precedence for this, and we must support as many such initiatives as possible.

4.10.

The Committee believes that in order to bring about improved harmonisation of European and national policies, the Commission and the Member States need to work closely with civil society in order to inform the public and develop local and regional programmes.

4.11.

The EESC praises the broad consensus voiced by the EU with regard to the Paris Agreement on climate change, and considers that the EU’s efforts must uphold the spirit of that consensus and that the EU must act to meet the targets set, which will also improve air quality.

4.12.

The EESC urges those Member States which have not yet done so to develop strategies to remove coal as a source of energy. Seven Member States have already taken coal out of their energy mix and nine others plan to do so (18).

4.13.

The EESC believes that the EU must also share good practices with its international partners. We cannot ignore the effects of atmospheric pollution from other parts of the world, which affect us both directly and indirectly. The Green Diplomacy Network and coherence in development policy are more important than ever before.

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(1)  Air quality in Europe — 2017 report.

(2)  9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action.

(3)  Air quality in Europe — 2017 report.

(4)  Eurobarometer special survey No 468 ‘Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment’.

(5)  Air quality in Europe — 2017 report.

(6)  COM/2017/0653 final — 2017/0291 (COD).

(7)  COM/2017/0652 final.

(8)  COM/2017/0648 final — 2017/0290 (COD).

(9)  COM/2017/0647 final — 2017/0288 (COD).

(10)  OJ C 451, 16.12.2014, p. 134.

(11)  OJ C 283, 10.8.2018, p. 83.

(12)  European Court of Auditors, Special report No 23/2018.

(13)  World Health Organisation: Residential heating with wood and coal: health impacts and policy options in Europe and North America.

(14)  Eurobarometer special survey No 468 ‘Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment’.

(15)  Air quality in Europe — 2017 report.

(16)  European Court of Auditors, Special report No 23/2018.

(17)  Markus Amann, ‘Measures to address air pollution from agricultural sources’.

(18)  Overview: National coal phase-out announcements in Europe. Europe Beyond Coal.