Photo: © Shutterstock – Joop Hoek

Exceeding air and noise targets costs EU €25bn

June 2019

A new report by the European Commission shows the impact of failure on seven policy areas – air and noise, nature and biodiversity, water, waste, chemicals, industrial emissions and major accident hazards, and horizontal instruments – with a total annual cost to the EU’s economy amounting to €54.7bn.

Clean air legislation has proven hardest for member states to implement so far, with many countries still struggling with high emission levels. Air pollution and high noise levels were estimated to have cost the EU €24.6bn in 2018, largely due to healthcare costs and days missed in work and education.

Source: Airqualitynews.com, 10 April 2019. Link to the report “The cost of not implementing EU environmental law”: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/pdf/study_costs_not_implementing_env...

Health
Illustration: © Lars-Erik Håkansson

A first vision of a Common Food Policy

IPES-Food presents a plan to transform the European Union food system, including proposals for 80 policy reforms and a new governance architecture.

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Editorial: Taking the next steps

The drought in Northern Europe last summer was a climate wake-up for many of us living in the region. It is one thing to grasp the basic science ...

In pursuit of net-zero farming

Slashing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is a tricky balancing act: we will need to use all the tools available, while making sure we do not sacrifice other environmental interests along the way.

Turning grasslands into forest is an effective strategy to bind carbon, though not uncontroversial. Photo: Flickr.com / RuralMatters CC BY-NC
Time to close the curtain for coal power. Photo: © Shutterstock – EshanaPhoto

Phase-out of coal in Europe during 2019 is ongoing

Coal is being phased out in Europe, but not fast enough to get totally coal-free by 2025.

Old, inefficient and substandard coal power plants in the Western Balkans cause an estimated 3,900 premature deaths every year. Photo: Flickr.com / Keijo Knutas CC BY-NC

Western Balkans’ chronic coal pollution

Sixteen outdated coal power plants in the Western Balkans are a public health and economic liability for the whole of Europe, with people in the EU bearing the majority ...

CCS: Time to move on

With coal on the decline, for political, economic and technical reasons, the argument for CCS in the power sector is weaker than ever before.

CCS is compared to the holy grail. It is time to give up the fruitless search. Photo: © Shutterstock – Dm_Cherry
Norweigan in a different reality than the rest of Europe. Photo: © Shutterstock – Gargonia

Sweeping Europe’s emissions under the rug

Enthusiasm for CCS has waned across much of Europe as the technology has failed to advance and renewables have convincingly demonstrated their ability to cost-effectively decarbonize the energy system. But don’t tell that to Norway.

Carbon footprint from mobility needs to decrease by at least 72 per cent by 2030 in developed countries. Photo: Flickr.com / Mikael Colville-Andersen CC BY-NC-ND

1.5-degree lifestyles

A new report “1.5-Degree Lifestyles” evaluates the implications of the Paris Agreement from a lifestyle perspective. It analyses scientific emission ...

Air pollution death toll much higher than previously thought

Air pollution causes nearly 800,000 early deaths a year in Europe and 8.8 million worldwide, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.

Currently, the limit value set for average annual levels of PM2.5 in the EU is 25 μg/m3, which is 2.5 times higher than recommended by the WHO. Photo: © Shutterstock – Image Point Fr
Low-cost renewable electricity shows that climate-protecting measures may improve industrial competitiveness and prosperity. Photo: Flickr.com / Red Rose exile CC BY-NC-SA

Large potential for offshore wind energy in the Baltic and North Sea

Low-cost renewable electricity shows that climate-protecting measures may improve industrial competitiveness and prosperity.

The increase in electricity supply will be met mainly through solar and wind. Photo: Flickr.com / Cifor CC BY-NC-ND

Science confirms that students are right – we can act now

State-of-the-art Climate Model “One Earth” backed by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation maps out a feasible pathway to keeping global warming below 1.5°C – joining the dots between energy strategies and nature conservation measures for the first time.

World air quality status – city ranking

New air pollution data compiled in the IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report and interactive World’s most polluted cities ranking, prepared in collaboration with Greenpeace Southeast Asia ...

Sarajevo is one of the cities on the Western Balkan with really bad air quality. Photo: Flickr.com / Thomas HackL CC BY-NC
Coal-fired power plant in Dandong, China. Photo: Flickr.com / Max-Leonard von Schaper CC BY-NC

Global coal power emissions mapped

Closing down the 10 per cent most polluting coal-fired plants would reduce air pollution health impacts from coal power generation by nearly two-thirds.

The core focus is on the phasing out of old stoves and fireplaces. Photo: Flickr.com / Rawpixwl ltd CC BY

Flemish Green Deal on domestic wood heating

An accelerated replacement or phasing out of old wood-fired heating devices can bring significant additional reductions in PM2.5 emissions.

Global health impacts of vehicle exhaust

Study links ambient levels of toxic particles and ozone specifically caused by vehicle exhaust emissions to 385,000 premature deaths worldwide in 2015, of which 60,000 were due to emissions from shipping.

PM2.5 and ozone concentrations from transportation emissions resulted in 7.8 million years of life lost in 2015. Photo: Flickr.com / Kim Hansen CC BY-SA
Researchers have found a possible link between crime and air pollution levels. Photo: © Shutterstock – Rainer Fuhrmann

How air pollution is doing more than killing us

The air we breathe could be changing our behaviour in ways we are only just beginning to understand.

Tokyo, one of the cities that have signed the declaration. Photo: Flickr.com / Grape Juice Girl CC BY-NC-ND

Cities for clean air

On 11 October, 35 mayors pledged to deliver clean air for over 140 million people who live in their cities. By signing the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration, the mayors recognise ...

Busy fighting climate change. Photo: © Shutterstock – Ljupco Smokovski

We need to work less to tackle climate crisis

People across Europe will need to work drastically fewer hours to avoid disastrous climate heating unless there is a radical decarbonising of the economy, according to a study.

Efficiency improvements are offset by increase in production. Photo: Flickr.com / Myke Lyons CC BY-NC

GHG and ammonia emissions from Irish farms on the rise

According to the national Irish farm survey, based on data from 2017, emissions of greenhouse gases and ammonia continue to increase over time.

Sixteen more signatures needed. Photo: © Shutterstock – Roman Motizov

Doha Amandment must be ratified

The United Nations is encouraging governments to ratify as soon as they can the amendments relating to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ...

Air pollution contributes to almost 10 per cent of deaths globally. Photo: © Shutterstock – KBel

Toxic air will shorten children’s lives by 20 months

The life expectancy of children born today will be shortened by 20 months on average by breathing the toxic air that is widespread across the globe ...

Particles may trigger inflammation in blood vessels and starve the genitals of oxygen. Photo: © Shutterstock – Klenger

Air pollution may cause erectile dysfuntion

Air pollution may be damaging men’s ability to perform in the bedroom, scientists warn. New research published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine ...

Italian failures come in many shapes and flavours. Photo: © Shutterstock – Andrew Safonov

Italy goes to EU Court over air pollution

On 7 March, the European Commission decided to refer Italy to the EU Court of Justice for failure to respect limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) ...

This time our priority was to set a new ministry record for hula hoop. Photo: © Shutterstock – Deborah Kolb

Most EU governments failed to file air pollution plans on time

National governments were supposed to detail how they plan to reduce emissions of harmful air pollution in “National Air Pollution Control Programmes” (NAPCP), which should have been sent to the European Commission by 1 April.

As from 8 April, only petrol cars that meet the Euro 4 standard and diesel vehicles that meet the tighter Euro 6/VI standard are excempted from an extra charge. Photo: © Shutterstock – Lorna Roberts

London launches ultra-low emissions zone

Green groups have hailed the start of an ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) in London that sets the toughest vehicle emission standards for any urban air quality scheme in the world.

Photo: © Shutterstock – Joop Hoek

Exceeding air and noise targets costs EU €25bn

A new report by the European Commission shows the impact of failure on seven policy areas – air and noise, nature and biodiversity, water, waste ...

The future of 20,000 Danish stoves. Photo: Flickr.com / Peter Durand cc By-NC-ND

Denmark scraps old wood stoves

Starting in February, Danes who scrap old (pre-1995) and polluting wood stoves can get a scrap premium of just over DKK 2000.

Pollutes five to ten times more than the modern version. Photo: © Shutterstock – Arogant

Old boilers – high emissions

Together with researchers and experts in the other Nordic countries, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute IVL has measured and analysed emissions of particles ...

Photo: © Shutterstock – xpixel

Polish top court upholds solid fuel ban for Krakow

The ruling on 12 March by Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court follows an anti-smog resolution approved by the country’s Regional Administrative Court.

Photo: © Shutterstock – Dmitry Natashin

Baltic Sea SECA has saved thousands of lives

Thousands of lives in North Europe have been saved as a result of the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), whereby ships’ fuel ...

Photo: © Shutterstock – Dmitry Natashin

Support for a Mediterranean Emission Control Area growing

Italy has declared its support for controlling ship emissions in the Mediterranean, the country’s Minister of Environment Sergio Costa declared at a recent G7 summit held in Metz, France.

In brief

A 4°C temperature rise

An average heating of the entire globe by 4°C would render the planet unrecognisable from anything humans have ever experienced. The last time the world was this hot was 15 million years ago during the miocene, when intense volcanic eruptions in western North America emitted vast quantities of CO2. Sea levels rose some 40 metres higher than today and lush forests grew in Antarctica and the Arctic. A 4°C rise in global average temperatures would force humans away from equatorial regions. This is how the future would look according to an article in the Guardian which summarises scientific findings.

The Guardian 18 May 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/18/climate-crisis-heat-...

Iceland’s first electrified ferry

ABB supplies the drive system and energy storage technology for Iceland’s first electrified ferry. The 70-metre vessel will be equipped with a 3,000 kWh battery pack and run in fully electric mode most of the time. This means that the onboard diesel generator only serves as a backup for the electric ferry in particularly difficult weather conditions. The boat will make 3,600 annual trips in the rough waters between Landeyjahöfn on the mainland and the Westman Islands, covering 13 km in about 45 minutes. On average, it will take about 30 minutes to recharge the battery system. The ferry will have a capacity of 550 passengers and 75 cars, and delivery is set before the year’s end.

Source: electrive.com, 14 February 2019.

110 shipping companies support speed limit

In an open letter to the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), the 110 companies express their support for proposals from several countries to implement regulations on vessel speed, which will reduce ships’ greenhouse gas emissions. Several environmental NGOs, including Clean Shipping Coalition, T&E, WWF, Greenpeace and AirClim, are also signatories of the letter.

Source: “Open letter to IMO Member States supporting mandatory speed measure to reduce shipping emissions”, 30 April 2019. Link: https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/Joint%2...

EC study backs speed limits for ships

A study funded by the European Commission (EC) and led by CE Delft has come out in favour of implementing speed limits for ships, saying it is one of only a few ways the shipping industry can meet its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Capping the average speed at 20 per cent below 2012 levels could reduce annual CO2 emissions in 2030 by 24 to 34 per cent, compared to business-as-usual, according to the study.

Source: Ship&Bunker, 3 May 2019. Link to the study “Study on methods and considerations for the determination of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for international shipping”: https://www.cedelft.eu/en/publications/2297/study-on-methods-and-conside...?