air pollution originating from Many of Europe’s major industries continue to cause serious damage to the environment, climate and human health. But according to an updated analysis from the European Environment Agency (EEA), The economic cost of this pollution has fallen by nearly a third in the last decade. This report, published just a few days ago, shows that just a small fraction of the most polluting plants (mostly coal-fired power plants) caused half the total damage.
The 2024 update of the EEA report ‘Health and environmental costs of industrial air pollution in Europe’ provides the latest assessment of trends in the environmental and health consequences of industrial air pollution in Europe. The 10,000 largest sites in Europe from 2012 to 2021. These facilities regularly report their emissions and pollutant data to the European Industrial Emission Portal.
The five Member States with facilities that contributed to the highest external costs in 2021 were: Germany, Poland, Italy, France and Spain. When comparing costs to GDP, an indicator of relative performance per unit of national economic output, the top five countries were Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Greece and Cyprus.
EEA analysis reveals that the cost of air pollution caused by Europe’s largest industrial facilities is quite high, averaging between €268 billion and €428 billion annually. In 2021 these costs accounted for around 2% of EU GDP. It turned out that very few of these, just one percent (107) of the most polluting industrial facilities (mostly coal-fired power plants), caused half the total damage.
Cost reduced by 33% in ten years
But the EEA analysis also reveals the environmental and health costs of European industry There was a decrease of one-third (-33%) between 2012 and 2021.
This sharp decline occurred Thanks to the energy sector The EU accounted for the majority (around 80%) of this total decline, largely as a result of policy initiatives taken by the EU, by adopting best available techniques and switching to renewable energy and cleaner fuels.
And this European Green Deal encourages European industry to become greener and more digital. The Industrial Emissions Directive has recently been reviewed and the new Industrial Emissions Portal Regulation (IEPR) has been approved; This regulation aims to drive major European industry towards decarbonisation, zero pollution, circular economy and innovation.
Also, it is expected Tightening the EU Air Quality Directive Further support this strategy by bringing contamination limits closer to health guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
The EEA will publish its second zero pollution monitoring and outlook report together with the European Commission later this year. To highlight the challenges and opportunities in the EU energy transition, this year’s report will map the 100 most polluting large combustion plants (LCPs) in the EU.
Reference work: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/the-cost-to-health-and-the
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