PROGRESS REDUCING EMISSIONS OF SOME AIR POLLUTANTS

Environmental Panorama
International
November of 2007

 

Published: 23 Nov 2007 - Emissions of sulphur (SOx) have been reduced by almost 70 % since 11000, says a new report recently released by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report, 'Annual European Community LRTAP Convention emission inventory report 11000–2005' also shows that levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx), as reported by the EU-27 Member States, are down by 35 %.

SOx and NOx are harmful to human health and the environment. Emissions of both pollutants were approximately 3.5 % lower in 2005 compared to 2004. Emissions reductions have taken place across many sectors including transport, energy, agriculture and waste.

At the EU-27 level, large emission reductions were also recorded for other key air pollutants including carbon monoxide (– 51 %) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (– 42 %).

The inventory report shows emission trends and data availability for the EU-27, and is published annually. Data from Member States are compiled by the EEA on behalf of the European Commission, as part of the Community's legal reporting obligations for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE LRTAP Convention). This report therefore documents the emissions data officially reported by Member States. Other EEA publications such as the Core set of indicators and the recently released EEA report 'Air Pollution in Europe 11000–2004' provide detailed assessments of why changes in the reported emissions have occurred.

The report does highlight a lack of data from Member States. As a result emissions of some pollutants cannot be calculated. The report recommends ways in which reporting can be improved.

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IPCC report calls for immediate action on climate change

Published: 19 Nov 2007 - The latest report from the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underlines the need for immediate mitigation and adaptation measures according to Professor Jacqueline Mc Glade, Executive Director of the EEA.

The report, the fourth in a series this year, was presented in Valencia, Spain after a week of intense negotiations. It pulls no punches in terms of the possibly catastrophic impacts of climate change, underlining in particular the impacts on poorer nations, who are wholly unprepared.

'While the worst effects of climate change may not hit for many years we must prepare now. Climate change will have profound effects on our natural resources and will also change the way we go about our daily lives. We will not only lose biodiversity but also large parts of our territory, for example low-lying coastal areas and river basins as sea levels rise and the number of river floods increase,' Professor McGlade said.

This report provides an integrated view of climate change, its causes, its effects, as well as adaptation and mitigation options, focusing on issues particularly relevant for policymakers. The report provides a more systematic understanding of the timing and magnitude of the impacts of climate change and clearly points out that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the main cause.

The IPCC report says that:

observations of climate change, its impacts and causes, are alarming;
without additional mitigation (by reducing greenhouse gas emissions) climate change will lead to significant risks;
adaptation to climate change must start now;
reducing the risks of climate change is urgent, possible and affordable.
The latest IPCC report is seen as the main input for a key United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Bali this December. The meeting will discuss a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, which was agreed by the UNFCCC in 1997 and came into force in 2005.

'This report further underlines the importance of agreeing on a next step, a post-Kyoto global emission reduction scheme. The Bali meeting should be a watershed — if we don't achieve a global agreement to cut future emissions there — it may be too late, Professor McGlade said.

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Beyond GDP — Brussels Conference

Published: 23 Nov 2007 - 'Gross domestic product, regularly used as an indicator of the size of a country's economy, does not factor in the benefits from nor the costs to the ecosystem,' said EEA Executive Director Prof. Jacqueline McGlade in her presentation at the expert workshop preceding the 'Beyond GDP' conference in Brussels this week.

'The free services that the ecosystem provides such as, air and water should be measured, valued and added to the GDP for computing a more inclusive aggregated measure, which we call inclusive domestic product (IDP),' Prof. McGlade said.

Many negative impacts on the ecosystem such as over-harvesting, waste disposal, fragmentation by dams, and sealing of soil for development had no direct counterpart in GDP. As a result, the full cost of producing and consuming goods and services is not reflected in their ultimate market price. These ignored costs should be added to the current production output and imports of countries, sectors and companies enabling us to calculate the full cost of goods and services (FCGS), she said.

These two additional measures could be a valuable tool for policy-makers, enabling them to take more informed decisions on the costs of action versus inaction, on environmental costs and where to target ecological tax reform. However, such additional measures would supplement GDP, not replace or adjust it, the EEA director stressed.

 
 

Source: European Environment Agency (http://www.eea.eu.int/main_html)
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