EU Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution

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• EU Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution
• Workshop on Review and Assessment of European
  Air Pollution PoliciesGothenburg, 25-27 October
  2005
• Matti Vainio
• Peter Gammeltoft and Duncan Johnstone
• Clean Air Transport Unit
• DG Environment

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Existing air pollution policy

• AQ framework and daughter directives
• National Emission Ceilings (NEC) directive
• Gothenburg Protocol of the Convention of
  Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
• Vehicle emission and fuel quality standards (Auto
  Oil programmes)
• Stationary sources (LCP, fuel distribution,
  IPPC)
• Products (e.g. solvents, paints)

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Why Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme?

• Continuing problems with air pollution,
  especially particulate matter and ozone
• Increasing evidence of adverse health effects
• Need to update and improve projections and
  modelling
• Difficulty in achieving AQ limit values
  (especially NO2 and particulate matter)

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6th Environment Action Programme (EAP) of July
2002 requires

• Thematic Strategy on air pollution to be adopted
  in three years
• Using a knowledge-based approach
• Objectives
• Achieving levels of air quality that do not give
  rise to significant negative impacts on and risks
  to human health and the environment (Art 7.1. of
  6th EAP)
• No exceedence of critical loads and levels for
  acidification or eutrophication

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Air pollution relevant objectives for environment
and health

• Climate change and air pollution measures should
  be compatible.
• Improve the monitoring and assessment of air
  quality
• Improve the provision of information to the
  public, including by indicators
• Adopt appropriate measures concerning
  ground-level ozone and particulates

• Play a leading role in the negotiations on and
  strengthening the links and interactions with
  international processes contributing to clean air
  in Europe
• Develop Community instruments to reduce emissions
• Art 7 (f) of 6EAP

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Thematic Strategy is set to

• Strengthen a coherent and integrated policy on
  air pollution to cover priorities for further
  actions,
• the review and updating where appropriate of air
  quality standards and
• national emission ceilings
• with a view to reach the long term objective of
  no exceedence of critical loads and levels and
• the development of better systems for gathering
  information, modelling and forecasting
• Thus, it will set goals and priorities for
  action, and will be accompanied by or followed by
  legislative proposals, as appropriate
  Art 7 (f) of 6EAP

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Stakeholder consultationin CAFE

• CAFE Steering Group
• WG on Implementation
• WG on Particulate Matter
• WG on Target Setting and Policy Assessment
• Ad hoc consultations
• Agricultural projections, CBA methodology,
  transport sector (TREMOVE model) projections
• Workshops (e.g. Gothenburg)
• Peer review of key models

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3 pillars of CAFE

• Scientific advice
• WHO Systematic review of Air Quality guidelines
• Advice of CLRTAP WG Effects on ecosystems
• Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM)
• Least cost solutions for multi-pollutant/multi-eff
  ects (human health and environment)
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Peer-reviewed methodology based on regional scale
  modelling of pollutant dispersion

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Emissions, health and environment impacts up to
2020

• Most emissions are decreasing though there are
  exceptions (e.g. ammonia)
• Air quality is improving for all pollutants
• But still significant problems to be addressed
  (e.g. particulate matter ozone)
• Impacts on the natural environment (acidification
  damage from ozone) are reducing
• But still significant problems, particularly
  eutrophication.
• Thematic Strategy will be mainly about making
  existing policies work better with some new
  measures as well.

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Air quality problems

• WHO (Global burden of disease)
• About 100,000 people die every year prematurely
  due to exposure to particulate matter in Europe
• WHO Systematic review
• Currently PM shortens life expectancy by about 9
  months in the EU, in some Member States up to 1
  to 2 years
• No safe level for human exposure to particulate
  matter in air
• Smaller particles may be more damaging
• WHO/UNECE Task Force on Health
• No threshold for ozone effects on humans but
  analysis starts from background levels in air

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Anthropogenic contributionto PM2.5

2000 2010
2020
Rural concentrations, annual mean µg/m3 from
known anthropogenic sources excluding sec. org.
aerosols Average of calculations for 1997, 1999,
2000 2003 meteorologies
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Ecosystems impactsup to 2020

• Acidification of ecosystems is decreasing
• But still two thirds of lakes in Southern
  Scandinavia at risk.
• About half of the forest plots in the
  European-wide survey for forests (EU Forest
  Focus) are at risk.
• Eutrophication of ecosystems widespread
• Half of ecosystems with unsustainable levels of
  nitrogen deposition.
• Ozone exposure is reducing as peak levels
  decrease
• But significant areas of European forests at risk
  from ozone exposure at levels up to six times the
  safe level.

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Acid deposition to forestsin 2020
Acidification of forests continues
Percentage of forest areawith acid deposition
above critical loads, using ecosystem-specific
deposition. Average of calculations for 1997,
1999, 2000 2003 meteorologies
Source CAFE Baseline, RAINS (2004)
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Excess of critical loads for eutrophication

2000 2010
2020
Percentage of ecosystems area with nitrogen
deposition above critical loads, using
grid-average deposition. Average of calculations
for 1997, 1999, 2000 2003 meteorologies
Source CAFE Baseline, RAINS (2004)
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Conclusions

• With decreasing pollution, adverse impacts are
  expected to decline in the future
• However, problems will not be entirely resolved
• PM remains serious (about 5 months life
  expectancy loss in 2020)
• Ozone
• Remains a significant cause for premature deaths
  (Several thousands cases in 2020)
• Vegetation damage Wide-spread violations of
  long-term sustainable levels will prevail
• Acidification of ecosystems will not disappear,
  mainly due to ammonia
• Eutrophication remains unresolved again because
  of ammonia emissions

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Some possible measures

• Streamlining current Air Quality legislation
• Consolidation simplification of ambient air
  quality legislation (e.g. reporting)
• Improving implementation by Member States
• Introducing a air quality limit value for PM2.5
• Revising the NEC directive
• Uptated vehicle emissions standards (Euro 5 and
  6)
• Especially to reduce particulate matter
• Small scale combustion
• Product emission standards and Integrated
  Pollution Prevention Control to reduce
  emissions of particulate matter nitrogen oxides
• Integration measures
• Agriculture (IPPC, less fertiliser, animal waste
  disposal etc.)
• Transport (charging other measures to reduce
  pollution)
• Ship emissions (more action in the IMO for
  cleaner engines)

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Next steps

• On-going consultation on optimisation scenarios
  (WG Target Setting and Policy Assessment, CAFE
  Steering Group plus other events (eg.
  Gothenburg))
• Discuss outline of Thematic Strategy in CAFE
  Steering Group (November 2004)
• Public consultation (December 2004 - January
  2005) including possibly targeted consultation
• Discuss content of Thematic Strategy in CAFE
  Steering Group (February 2005)
• Send for Inter-Service consultation 1 April 2005
• Commission adoption in May 2005
• Presentation in the CAFE Steering Group in May
  2005

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Questions for working groups

• Given WHO and WG PM advice what ambient
  concentration of PM2.5 should be proposed?
• WG PM suggested 12-20 micrograms per cubic meter
• US standard is 15 micrograms per cubic meter
• Assuming PM2.5 becomes the focus of attention,
  what should we do about PM10?
• Also, should changes be proposed in monitoring
  requirements?
• What about supersite monitoring of PM?
• Given WHO advice
• Keep NO2 concentration limit value untouched?
• Any changes to 3rd Daughter Directive on Ozone?
• Main research needs for the period 2005-2015 in
  atmospheric pollution in the EU and in the world?
• Which measures should we specifically look into?
  Why?
• Ideas for reducing ship emissions?

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Questions (cont.)

• NEC How to reduce ammonia emissions, which is
  becoming a major source of impacts in
  acidification and eutrophication?
• Pros and cons of introducing a ceiling for
  primary PM2.5?
• Given that hemispheric pollution is becoming
  increasingly important, what would be the pros
  and cons of introducing a NEC ceiling for
  methane?
• What, if anything, should we say about the
  instititutional framework to control
  transboundary air pollution given
• increased contribution of hemispheric background
• enlargement of the EU
• We are planning to hold a specific web-based
  consultation
• What would be your three favourite questions?
• Using economic instruments, like (national)
  taxation/charging or (either national or
  EU-level) emission trading
• Should the Thematic Strategy encourage,
  discourage or be neutral?

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Advertisement

• Conference on Policy Instruments to Reduce Air
  Pollution
• Brussels, 11-12 November 2004
• Organised by European Commission and the Network
  of Experts in Benefits and Economic Instruments
  of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air
  Pollution
• Look at the application form
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/nebei_wo
  rkshop/index.htm