Studded tyres are one of the targets in the Islandic air pollution programme. Photo: Royal Broil - Flickr.com/CC BY-SA

Iceland aims for zero

Iceland has published a national air pollution control programme, under which they aim to cut the number of days per year when particulates from traffic exceed health limits from the current 7-20, to zero. Increased duties on diesel, levies on studded tyres and more frequent dust binding on roads are part of the package.

Despite having Europe’s lowest levels of fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as well as a small population, the country still has 80 deaths a year that can be attributed to air pollution.

Soutce: ENDS Europe Daily, 24 November 2017.

Air qualityRoad traffic

In this issue

CAP fails to target emission sources

Greenhouse gas emissions from farming in the EU are on the rise, while the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) fails to deliver climate action, according to a new “fitness check”.

Editorial: Steps to climate action

A few weeks ago the European Commission presented a communication on “The Future of Food and Farming”, which is one of the first stepping stones in a long CAP reform ...

More flexibility risks further erosion of sustainability ambitions

Direct payments will remain the core of the budget, “greening” will be abolished and member states will get more power, as the Commission points out the future direction for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

State of the global climate

The World Metrological Organization (WMO) reports on a number of worrying climate-related records for 2017.

Shipping lobby hinders progress at the IMO

Shipping has a carbon footprint roughly matching that of Germany, and its emissions are projected to grow significantly up to 2050.

Grass-fed beef is not a climate solution

Livestock can under certain conditions and for limited periods of time contribute to carbon sequestration in grasslands, but this can at best offset no more than 11 per cent of all livestock emissions.

Humans can only survive below a threshold of 35°C

Middle East, North Africa and Southern European levels of intense heat could make outdoor work very difficult this century and human life impossible around the Arabian Gulf.

Energy efficiency has multiple benefits

Reducing energy waste through appropriate energy efficiency measures is the most direct way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ...

Climate change will force mass migration of 1 billion people by 2100

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) released in summer 2017 a joint report entitled “A Region at Risk ...

Global energy systems based on 100% renewables

Accelerated deployment of renewables and energy efficiency can achieve around 90% of carbon emission reductions in the energy sector.

Fossil gas is not a bridge to a clean energy future

The climate cannot afford Europe’s gas addiction and NGOs are campaigning strongly against fossil gas projects.

Electrification of road, air and sea transport

Industry is fast developing visions for an electrified transport system.

Harmful air pollution hits urban citizens

Air quality in Europe is slowly improving, but excessive levels of tiny particles are still responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths every year.

Regulating ship speed could cut emissions by a third

Reducing the speed of three main ship types by 30 per cent could decrease annual CO₂ emissions by nearly 200 million tonnes.

New NGO coalition wants to end coal in EU by 2030

In early November a wide coalition of environmental organisations launched a campaign to make Europe coal-free by 2030.

The biggest polluters

New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of carbon dioxide emissions.

Excess diesel NOx causes 5,000 deaths per year

Every year about 7,500 lives could have been saved in the EU if diesel cars had emitted as little NOx as petrol cars.

Effects of climate change on salmonids

Salmonid fish are sensitive to increased water temperatures. Decreased precipitation, forest fires and ocean acidification are other threats that come with climate change.