Published: 05 Dec 2007
A number of EU Member States are likely to
miss legally-binding 2010 emission targets
for four important air pollutants, according
to the 'NEC Directive status report 2006'
from the EEA. The report is based on the latest
data officially reported by Member States
under the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive
(NEC Directive).
The NEC Directive requires all Member States
to report information concerning air emissions
for four pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile
organic compounds (NMVOCs), and ammonia (NH3).
These pollutants can harm human health and
the environment.
The NEC Directive sets pollutant-specific
and legally-binding emission ceilings (targets)
for each country to be met by 2010. It also
lays down the requirements for the Member
States to annually report their latest air
emission data and their projected emission
estimates for the year 2010. Each year the
EEA publishes a summary of this information.
The most recent data shows that only 11 Member
States (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland,
Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Slovak Republic and the United Kingdom) presently
expect to meet their respective national ceilings
defined in the Directive. The remaining thirteen
Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands,
Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) project
to miss ceilings for at least one of the four
pollutants if additional actions to reduce
emissions are not taken.
Seven of the latter countries (Belgium, France,
Germany, Ireland, Malta, Slovenia, and Sweden)
are considering implementing 'additional'
actions in order to meet the 2010 targets.
The ceiling for NOx appears to be the most
challenging for countries to meet, with 11
Member States indicating that, without taking
additional measures, they will not reach their
ceilings by 2010.
Luxembourg did not report data, while Bulgaria
and Romania were not members of the European
Union when the latest data was reported.
