Thursday

7th Dec 2023

Less ambition in exchange for progress in EU air quality

  • Activists demonstrated outside the EU council building in Brussels as ministers agreed to lower air quality targets. (Photo: Peter Teffer)

EU environment ministers decided on Wednesday (16 December) to neglect the chance to prevent the premature deaths of several thousands of Europeans by watering down air pollution targets.

But the compromise was necessary to break a deadlock, which also leads to inaction on air quality, said Luxembourgish minister for environment Carole Dieschbourg.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“If we lose time, we lose people. It's simple as that,” said Dieschbourg on Wednesday at a press conference in Brussels, after chairing a meeting of fellow environment ministers on an air-quality proposal, which the EU commission tabled exactly two years ago this Friday.

She said a lot of bilateral meetings with member states were needed to come to a common position, and that it is a “very difficult file.”

Without the lower targets, there would not have been any agreement, said Dieschbourg. “I had to have a majority of parties behind me.”

“You can trust me that I was not very happy about the level of ambition,” she added. But she said she is happy that, now that the deadlock is broken and national governments have reached a common position, negotiations with the European Parliament can finally begin.

“There is a possibility to go up on ambition. I know the parliament,” noted Dieschbourg, who is a member of Luxembourg's Green party.

Air pollution was responsible for more than 430,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2012 alone, according to the European Environment Agency. Pollutants also contribute to chronic respiratory diseases.

The commission's draft legislation included emission ceilings for each member state, and for six pollutants.

The member states, however, suggest to completely remove one of them, methane. They suggested to lower each of the five other reduction targets for 2030.

When looking at member state level, the countries suggest to lower 115 of the 140 targets. They agreed to keep nine of the commission's figures, and offered a more ambitious target in 16 cases.

By lowering the targets, this also lowers the prediction of the amount of prevented premature deaths, or lives lengthened.

According to the commission, its plans would have reduced 52 percent of the “health impact,” but the member states' changes would lower that to around 48 percent.

“Less ambition does not necesssarily mean lower financial cost. What it certainly means is higher human costs,” said EU environment commissioner Karmenu Vella.

“We will be saving around 4,000 premature deaths every year for every one percent reduction in our targets.”

Protests

Shortly before Vella and Dieschbourg held their press conference, a group of around 25 mostly Belgian activists had gathered outside the building where the meeting was held.

They had written texts like “give us some air” and “don't choke us!” on plastic bags, which they put on their heads. They stood near Schuman square, a traffic artery in the EU capital, which has no shortage of bad air.

One of them was Julia Poliscanova, from theTransport & Environment (T&E) NGO.

She had little faith in national governments, but said she hoped the European Parliament will push hard in negotiations.

“They [country governments] put industry concerns much higher than public health,” said Poliscanova, referring also to the “scandalous” decision national governments' recently took to allow diesel car manufacturers to exceed EU emission limits until well beyond 2020.

The air targets being discussed are for the period 2020-2030. But countries are already having difficulties staying below current ceilings.

Earlier this month, the commission referred Poland to the EU's Court of Justice for exceeding EU air pollution limits. The EU's executive has ongoing infringement procedures on excessive fine dust levels in 16 out of the 28 EU countries.

MEPs snub regulation of cow methane

Methane is second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. But MEPs voted to exclude "enteric methane," which is 80 to 85 percent of agriculture's share of emissions.

MEPs adopt compromise air-pollution bill

MEPs are willing to agree lower emissions targets than they initially wanted, the three largest political groups in parliament told this website.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Analysis

What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?

The most critical UN climate conference (COP28) ever will run from Thursday to mid-December — with talks on climate commitments and climate finance expected to determine the success of this year's summit.

Latest News

  1. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?
  2. Crunch talks seek breakthrough on EU asylum overhaul
  3. Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies
  4. 'Green' banks lend most to polluters, reveals ECB
  5. Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit
  6. A look to the past and the future of China-EU relations
  7. Tusk's difficult in-tray on Poland's judicial independence
  8. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us