IIn the fight against air pollution, stricter limit and target values for various pollutants will apply in the EU in the future. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU countries agreed on Tuesday evening on new upper limits for, among other things, fine dust, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as the European Parliament announced. The Belgian EU Council Presidency also confirmed an agreement. This still needs to be officially approved by the EU states and parliament. In most cases, however, this is a formality.
Right to compensation provided
The new rules are intended to ensure that air pollution in Europe does not harm human health, Parliament said. Citizens should be entitled to compensation if they become ill because limit values are not met. The limit values for certain fine dust particles and sulfur dioxide are to be halved. Both pollutants have a particularly significant impact on health, according to the European Parliament.
The new rules are intended to set the course for the EU Commission's action plan for “zero pollutants” in air, water and soil. She presented it in 2021. Despite considerable progress in the EU over the last few decades, health and the environment are still being seriously affected by pollutants, it was said.
Air pollution poses a high health risk
According to the EU Environment Agency EEA, bad air remains the greatest health risk posed by environmental conditions. According to the latest figures, there were around 253,000 deaths in the EU in 2021 that were related to fine dust levels above the recommended limits of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Criticism of the agreement
The CDU politician and chairman of the Agriculture Committee in the EU Parliament, Norbert Lins, criticized the agreement. New measures that particularly affected road transport and agriculture went too far, he said. He fears, for example, driving bans or the halting of construction projects.
The SPD MEP Tiemo Wölken said it was a shared responsibility to ensure that air was safe for everyone. “The impact of air pollution is most dramatic among working-class European citizens who cannot easily move to the suburbs or afford air filters,” said Wölken.
#agrees #stricter #limits #air #pollutants