Nine EU Member States on the verge of dispute
The Air Quality in Europe – 2017 report by the European Environment Agency notes that air quality in Europe is improving slowly. However, high concentrations of atmospheric pollution are still having significant repercussions on the health of Europeans, in particular those linked with fine particulate matter (PM), nitric oxide (NO2) and ground-level ozone (O3). The poor quality of the air is responsible for a large number of premature deaths (in 2014, nearly 400,000 premature deaths were caused by concentrations of PM 2.5 in the EU). But it also has major repercussions on the economy: it increases health costs, reduces worker productivity and impacts land, harvests, forests, lakes and rivers (for example, a recent survey revealed the losses in yield due to ozone pollution in wheat and rice crops).
Nine EU Member states, including France (Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, United Kingdom and Slovakia) are the subject of pre-contentious procedures initiated by the European Commission for non-compliance with the limit values for NO2 and PM10. In response, France published mid-April actions plans for the 14 most polluted areas in the country. These road maps supplement the National plan for the reduction of atmospheric pollutants, the atmosphere protection plans (PPA), the Regional climate, air quality and energy plans (SRCAE) and the Territorial climate, air quality and energy plans (PCAET) that they must complement in a fast and operational manner.
Meanwhile, the air pollution treatment stakeholders are set to meet at Pollutec 2018. Whether they are specialists in measuring pollutants, assessing air quality, air purification techniques and/or management of olfactory pollution or peaks of pollution, they will be presenting their latest innovative solutions on their stands and as part of dedicated conferences.
If you would like to find out more about the Air sector at Pollutec, please visit our Internet site.
