EU Environment Watchdog Claims Air Pollution Kills Thousands in Europe Every Year

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution will cause early deaths to hundreds of thousands of Europeans with the next twenty years. The EEA last collated figures in 2011, where more than 400,000 people were estimated to have died early, as a result of poor air quality. This number is staggering, but the figures will surely be much bigger in other parts of the world. Chinese power plants, for example, emit as much NOX as all the passenger cars in the world!

The EEA blamed governments’ failure to act on air pollution. Their figures revealed the UK as one of the worst countries, for not managing to meet European Union air quality regulations in several towns until 2030. In the report, which is issued every five years, the EEA strong advocated governments to take a ‘joined-up’ view regarding environmental issues.

Why can’t the problem of air pollution be easily solved?

The report revealed that the key problem was a lack of coordination of regulation between member states, to address different aspects of environmental damage.

Hans Bruyninckx, executive director of the EEA, said that a ‘systemic’ approach was required, in order to protect Europe’s environment: “It is not enough to look at these issues in isolation,” he told the Guardian. “They are interconnected and the way we study them and measure them and deal with them must be interconnected too.”

How the EEA rate key environmental factors

The environmental agency use a ‘traffic lights’ system to rate key environmental indicators.  Colours red, amber and green are utilised to show how well issues are being dealt with. The report looked at the current situation, and changes within the next 20 years, as some policies will need longer to be effectual.

Although many current issues were rated green or amber, none of the 20 key indicators rated ‘green’ within the 20 year-plus forecast.

Haven’t greenhouse gas emissions decreased?

One of the environmental issues that member states are currently doing well on is reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This is because people have been encouraged, through favourable tax cuts and pricing deals, to buy diesel cars.

Why diesel cars are bad for the environment

Diesel cars are more fuel-efficient than their petrol guzzling counterparts, but unfortunately they produce more air pollution. Diesel engines throw out nitrogen dioxide, which is known to cause inflammation of the airways, reduce lung function and aggravate asthma.

They also emit particulate matter, which consist of tiny specks of dust, invisible to the naked eye, and are linked to cancer, heart and lung diseases. This particulate matter can sometimes lodge in the lungs, and even enter the bloodstream, where it can cause further damage in the body.

The EEA believe the solution is for governments to collaborate by using the latest technology. Bruyninckx said, “Fully using Europe’s capacity to innovate could make us truly sustainable and put us at the frontier of science and technology, creating new industries and a healthier society.”

As part of London's ‘Ultra Low Emissions Zone’ policy, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson is considering a £10 charge for any diesel drivers who drive into central London from 2020. He has also lobbied central government to increase taxes on diesel. For more information on this story, read: Are Diesel Cars the Next Dodo? Hackney Council has already approved a new system that will see cars polluting the atmosphere paying higher permit charges. The charges, which will come into effect by 2017, means that the more CO2 emissions a car produces, the higher the charge.