In its annual report on air quality in Europe on Wednesday, the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency (EEA) attributed the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of Europeans to coal and biomass burning industries, power plants and household.

While there have been improvements in air quality in recent decades, EEA Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx believes that they are not enough to avoid damage to human health and the environment. “We need to tackle the root causes of air pollution, which calls for a fundamental and innovative transformation of our mobility, energy and food systems,” he said.

Pointing out that particle pollution, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone cause or exacerbate respiratory problems, cardio-vascular disease, cancer, and even reduce life-expectancy, the report urged public authorities, businesses, researchers and citizens to address the dangers of air pollution. In addition, it said that ground-level ozone reduces crop yields, thus harming food production and economies.
Drawing on monitoring data from over 400 European cities between 2000 and 2014, the report discerned that despite some improvements in air quality, nearly 85% of the European Union’s urban population were exposed to particle pollution above the level the World Health Organization considers safe.

The EEA report revealed that since 2010, ten EU member states have exceeded their nitrogen oxide emission ceilings, with Germany as the worst offender, exceeding three out of four of its emission ceilings: nitrogen oxide, ammonia, and non-methane volatile organic compounds.
This week, the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on revising the National Emission Ceilings Directive, making emissions limits even stricter.

Source: DW