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Directive 2001/81/EC on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants Factsheet from the Swedish NGO Secretariat on Acid Rain. May 2004. Also available in pdf format: 94 kB Introduction These targets constitute the first step towards the achievement of the long-term objectives of not exceeding the so-called critical loads,1 and of effective protection of human health against risks from air pollution, as laid down in the Fifth Environmental Action Programme. This NEC directive is the key legislation for the achievement of those environmental objectives, as well as for attaining the EU air quality standards for a number of pollutants, including SO2, NO2, fine particles (PM10), and ozone. According to the Commission’s original proposal from June 1999, the total emissions of sulphur dioxide in the EU should come down by 78 per cent, between 1990 and 2010. In the same time period, the emissions of nitrogen oxides should be reduced by 55 per cent, and those of volatile organic compounds and ammonia by 60 and 21 per cent respectively. While the parliament gave unreserved support to the Commission’s proposed emission ceilings, most member states were not prepared to do so. After conciliation negotiations between parliament and the Council, the NECs in the resulting directive will mean less emission reductions: SO2 will come down by 77 per cent, NOx by 51 per cent, VOCs by 54 per cent, and ammonia by 14 per cent. Consequently there is great risk that the interim environmental targets for ozone and acidification will not be achieved, a fact that has been strongly criticised by environmentalist NGOs. In most cases the emission ceilings of the directive do not deviate very much from those the EU member countries had already undertaken in 1999 by signing the Gothenburg protocol to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. This may give rise to questions as to why the EU was investing so much time and effort in order to come up with a NEC directive for the EU. One main reason is that EU legislation is in practice more demanding than international agreements. Having legally binding national emission ceilings established in EU legislation gives stronger provisions for follow-up and control of member states’ implementation and compliance with the NECs. Another reason is that the Commission is responsible for the achievement of EU environmental objectives, which in turn may require binding EU legislation. Since the EU has ratified the Gothenburg Protocol, it will furthermore be up to the Commission to ensure fulfilment of the Protocol obligations, and a practical way to do this will be through EU legislation, such as the NEC directive. Back to top Back to top
Table 1. National emission ceilings for SO2, NOx, VOCs and NH3, to be attained by 2010 by the EU15 member states (kilotonnes).
Following adoption of the NEC directive, national emission ceilings for 2010 have also been agreed with ten of the twelve so-called acceeding countries. These NECs are prescribed in the accession treaties between the EU and each acceding country, and shown in Table 2.
Table 2. National emission ceilings for SO2, NOx, VOCs and NH3, to be attained by 2010 by the acceding1 and accession candidate2 countries (kilotonnes).
1 The NECs for the eight acceding countries are not given in the NEC directive (2001/81/EC), but in the accession treaty for each country. 2 The NECs for the two accession candidate countries (Bulgaria and Romania) have not yet been established. Therefore, the figures given in this table for these two countries are taken from the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol. Back to top Since the political compromise between the Council and the parliament resulted in less demanding binding emission ceilings (as compared with the Commission’s proposal), the NECs of the directive will not be sufficiently stringent to attain the emission reductions necessary for meeting the interim targets. The directive therefore also contains so-called indicative emission ceilings (set out in Annex II). These are set for the EU as a whole (not for each member state), and reflect the emission reductions estimated to be needed EU-wide to meet the interim targets (see Table 3 below). Table 3. Indicative EU-wide emission ceilings for SO2, NOx and VOCs (kilotonnes).
Back to top If prepared in accordance with the obligations, these programmes could provide useful information not only on projected future emission levels, but also on national forecasts regarding future levels of activity in the energy, transport, industry, and agriculture sectors. Moreover, if member states produce and disseminate this type of information properly, the likelihood of compliance with other air quality legislation, such as the EU air quality standards, could be better evaluated. Member states shall also annually report their national emission inventories and projections for 2010 to the Commission. Methodologies for emission inventories and projections are specified in the directive. Review and revision Back to top The aim of the general relative improvement is expressed in the form of a so-called gap closure towards the long-term objective where there will be no exceeding of critical loads. "Gap closure" means a stepwise gradual closing of the gap between the current environmental situation and the "ideal" situation (with no exceeding of critical loads). The extraordinary improvements are to be achieved by including absolute limits for exposure to pollutants in the gap-closure procedure. A computer model for integrated assessment was used to arrive at a so-called joint optimization to find the most cost-effective way, for the EU as a whole, of achieving the environmental aims. This enabled the Commission to propose differentiated national emission ceilings, which largely reflect the polluter-pays principle and should maximize the environmental benefits of emission reductions. Back to top Furthermore, a highly doubtful energy scenario has been used in the computer modelling. This is largely based on information submitted by the individual member states, and would imply an increase in the EU emissions of carbon dioxide by about 8 per cent by 2010. Such an increase is in absolute disregard of the commitments made by the EU and its member countries under the Kyoto protocol, which would involve a reduction of 8 per cent in the EU emissions of greenhouse gases (of which carbon dioxide is the most important). A computer run simulating a low-CO2 scenario that would roughly accord with the Kyoto agreement brought the extra cost down by more than 40 per cent. Back to top Although no interim targets have been set for eutrophication, improvements can nevertheless be expected as result of the lower emissions of NOx and ammonia. However, significant further reductions in emissions are needed in all cases in order to attain the long-term objectives for the protection of health and the environment. The Commission has also made an analysis of the quantifiable gains from reducing emissions in terms of money. Account was taken chiefly of the effects on human health (morbidity and mortality), on farm crops and modern buildings and materials. Calculations showed the gains to be significant, and that the economically quantifiable benefits significantly outweighed the estimated costs. It should however be noted that a number of gains were not included, such as the direct health effects of NO2 and VOCs, less acidification of soil and water, less eutrophication, fewer effects on biological diversity, lesser long-term effect on forest productivity, and less damage to historical monuments. The process of review and revision provides an opportunity to strengthen the existing NECs for 2010, but will more likely result in a future stepwise strengthening of the emission ceilings – for example by establishing new NECs for 2015 and 2020. In any case it is obvious that the attainment of the long-term objectives will require significant further reductions in the emissions of all four pollutants. National reporting on programs From the eleven national reports that were delivered, it appears that several of the member countries foresee difficulties in meeting their ceilings. The main problem seems to be nitrogen oxides. Based on "business as usual" projections as reported by member states, only Finland and the UK would comply with all of their emission ceilings by 2010. If envisaged measures are considered, Germany would also meet all its emission ceilings. It is not however easy to determine how great the difficulties for meeting the ceilings actually are, since virtually all of the national programmes lack the information needed for an analysis – namely, quantitative estimates of the effect of policies and measures that are either planned, proposed or undertaken. Charts: EU15 emissions 1990-2001, and emission ceilings for 2010. Back to top It is however likely that the first review and revision will be delayed by about a year, the reason being that the analysis and evaluation are to be co-ordinated with the ongoing Clean Air For Europe (CAFE) programme, initiated by the Commission in 2001. The CAFE programme will result in a so-called thematic strategy for air pollution, to be presented by the Commission by July 2005 at the latest. This strategy is to be accompanied by proposals for revised and/or new directives relating to air pollution. Current developments under CAFE indicate that the NEC directive may also be extended to include national emission ceilings for fine particles (PM10 or PM2.5, or both). Back to top The reports on national programmes received by the Commission can be found on the environment directorate’s website.
Published: 19 May 2004. |
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