Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Changedon the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Ambienton Airambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (recast)

▸6 unchanged paragraphs

(COM(2022)0542 – C90364/2022 – 2022/0347(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0542),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90364/2022),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of ...22 ,February 2023,

Change 1

Changed– having regard to the opinionafter ofconsulting the Committee of the Regions of…,Regions,

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts,

Changed– having regard to the letter of xxx27 June 2023 sent by the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in accordance with Rule 110(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Rules 110 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A90000/2023),(A9-0233/2023),

Change 2

Removed1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission:

AddedA. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance;

Added1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 3

RemovedRecital 4: (4) The Zero Pollution Action Plan also sets out a vision for the year 2050, where air pollution is reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. To this end, a staged and ambitious approach towards setting current and future EU air quality standards should be pursued, establishing air quality standards for the year 2030 and at regular intervals beyond, and developing a perspective for continuous full alignment with the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines in order to achieve the zero pollution objective by the year 2050 at the latest based on a regular review mechanism to take into account the latest scientific understanding. Given the links between pollution reduction and decarbonisation, the long-term objective to achieve the zero pollution ambition should be pursued hand in hand with reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as set by Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council42 .

AddedRecital 2: (2) In December 2019, the European Commission set out in its Communication ‘The European Green Deal’40an ambitious roadmap to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, aiming to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment-related risks and impacts. Specifically on clean air, the Commission committed itself to further improving air quality and to aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). It also announced a strengthening of provisions on air quality monitoring, modelling and planning.

RemovedRecital 4 a (new): (4a) In September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new Air Quality Guidelines, based on a comprehensive synthesis of the scientific evidence on health effects of air pollution. This Directive takes into account the latest scientific understanding on the need to fully align the Union air quality standards with the most recent WHO guidelines in order to fulfil the overall objectives of the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

AddedRecital 4: (4) The Zero Pollution Action Plan also sets out a vision for the year 2050, where air pollution is reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. To this end, an ambitious approach towards setting current and future EU air quality standards should be pursued, establishing air quality standards for the year 2030 and at regular intervals beyond, and developing a perspective for continuous full alignment with the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines in order to achieve the zero pollution objective by the year 2050 at the latest based on a regular review mechanism to take into account the latest scientific evidence. Given the links between pollution reduction and decarbonisation, the long-term objective to achieve the zero pollution ambition should be pursued hand in hand with reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as set by Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council42.

RemovedRecital 5: (5) In taking the relevant measures at Union and national level to achieve the zero pollution objective for air pollution, Member States, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should be guided by the ‘precautionary principle’ and the ‘polluter pays principle’ established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the European Green Deal and the respect of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. They should, inter alia, take into account: the contribution of improved air quality to public health, the quality of the environment, the well-being of citizens, the fight against inequalities, the sustainability of solidarity-based social protection systems, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the prosperity of society, employment and the competitiveness of the economy; the energy transition, strengthened energy security and the tackling of energy poverty; food security and affordability; the development of sustainable and smart mobility and transport solutions; the impact of behavioural changes; fairness and solidarity across and within Member States, in light of their economic capability, national circumstances, such as the specificities of islands, and the need for convergence over time; the need to make the transition just and socially fair through appropriate education and training programmes; best available and most recent scientific evidence, in particular the findings r…

AddedRecital 4 a (new): (4a) In September 2021, the WHO released new Air Quality Guidelines, based on a comprehensive synthesis of the scientific evidence on health effects of air pollution. The conclusions of these Air Quality Guidelines specifically stress the importance of lowering the pollution concentrations at every level and show clear benefits for public health and the environment of such actions. This Directive takes into account the latest scientific understanding and the need to fully align the Union air quality standards with the most recent WHO Air Quality Guidelines in order to fulfil the overall objectives of the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

RemovedRecital 8: (8) A common approach to the assessment of ambient air quality should be followed by applying common assessment criteria. When assessing ambient air quality, account should be taken of the size of populations and ecosystems exposed to air pollution. It is therefore appropriate to classify the territory of each Member State into zones reflecting the population density, while taking socio-economic and health inequalities into account.

AddedRecital 4 b (new): (4b) The societal benefits from the continued and improved reduction of air pollution far outweigh the costs involved. According to Commission estimates, the annual direct costs of complying with various policy scenarios analysed under the impact assessment accompanying this Directive are between EUR 3,3 billion and EUR 7 billion, and the monetised health and environmental benefits are between EUR 36 billion and EUR 130 billion in 2030, thereby demonstrating that benefits of the air quality policy greatly exceeded implementation cost. Since the year 2000, air-polluting emissions in the Union have steadily decreased as a result of Union and national legislation.

RemovedAmended for consistency with Recital 5, that introduces “the fight against social inequalities” in the text. According to the World Health Organization, socio-economic factors are a major health determinant. Therefore, they should be taken into account when assessing ambient air quality. https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1

AddedRecital 5: (5) In taking the relevant measures at Union and national level to achieve the zero pollution objective for air pollution, Member States, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should be guided by the ‘precautionary principle’, the ‘polluter pays principle’ and the ‘prevention and rectifying pollution at source principle’ established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ‘do no harm’ principle of the European Green Deal and the respect of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. They should, inter alia, take into account: the contribution of improved air quality to public health, the quality of the environment and ecosystem resilience, the well-being of citizens, equality and the protection of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, healthcare costs, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of civil society, the prosperity of society, employment and the competitiveness of the economy; the energy transition, strengthened energy security and the tackling of energy poverty; food security and affordability; the development of sustainable and smart mobility and transport solutions and their infrastructure; the impact of behavioural changes; the impact of fiscal policies; fairness and solidarity across and within Member States, in light of their economic capability, national circumstances, such as the specificities of islands, and the need for convergence over time; the need to make the …

RemovedRecital 11: (11) It is important that pollutants of emerging concern, such as ultrafine particles, black carbon and elemental carbon, as well as ammonia and the oxidative potential of particulate matter, be monitored in order to support scientific understanding of their effects on health and the environment, as recommended by the WHO, and with a view to establishing limit values for them.

AddedRecital 5 a (new): (5a) This Directive contributes to the attainment of the SDGs, in particular SDGs 3, 7, 10, 11 and 13.

RemovedRecital 12: (12) Detailed measurements of fine particulate matter at rural background locations should be made in order to understand better the transboundary contribution and the impacts of this pollutant, and to develop appropriate policies. Such measurements should be made in a manner consistent with those of the cooperative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP) set up under the 1979 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution approved by Council Decision 81/462/EEC of 11 June 198144 and its Protocols, including the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone of 1999, which was revised in 2012 .

AddedRecital 6: (6) The ‘Eighth General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030’ adopted by Decision (EU) 2022/591 of the European Parliament and of the Council on 6 April 202243 establishes as one of its priority objectives to achieve a non-toxic environment protecting the health and well-being of people, animals and ecosystems from environment-related risks and negative impacts, and, for that purpose, stipulates, inter alia, that further improvement of monitoring methods, better transboundary coordination, better information to the public and access to justice are needed. This guides the objectives set in this Directive.

RemovedParticulate matter is a type of air pollution that can travel long distances in the atmosphere. Long-range transport of particulate matter contributes significantly to exposure and to health effects. This aspect should be highlighted in the text. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/78657/E88189.pdf

AddedRecital 7: (7) The Commission should regularly review the scientific evidence related to pollutants, their effects on human health and the environment, health inequalities, direct and indirect healthcare costs associated with air pollution, environmental costs, and behavioural, fiscal and technological developments. Based on the review, the Commission should assess whether applicable air quality standards are still appropriate to achieve the objectives of this Directive. The first review should be carried out by 31/12/2028 to assess whether air quality standards need to be updated based on the latest scientific information. The Commission should regularly assess the contribution of Union legislation laying down emissions standards for sources of air pollution to the achievement of the air quality standards established by this Directive and, where necessary, propose additional Union measures.

RemovedRecital 15: (15) In order to protect human health and the environment as a whole, it is particularly important to combat emissions of pollutants at source and to identify and implement the most effective emission reduction measures at local, national and Union level, in particular when it comes to emissions from agriculture, industries, transport, heating and energy generation. Therefore, emissions of harmful air pollutants should be avoided, prevented or reduced and appropriate standards set for ambient air quality on the basis of the latest scientific evidence as published in the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines.

AddedRecital 10: (10) Where relevant, modelling applications should be applied to enable point data to be interpreted in terms of geographical distribution of concentration of pollutants, to help to detect breaches of air quality standards, and to inform air quality plans and air quality roadmaps and the placement of sampling points. In addition to the requirements for air quality monitoring defined in this Directive, for monitoring purposes, Member States are encouraged to exploit information products and supplementary tools (e.g. regular evaluation and quality assessment reports, policy online applications), provided by the Earth Observation component of the EU Space Programme, in particular the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

RemovedNew drafting for consistency with the changes made to ANNEX I and the wording used when mentioning the WHO Air Quality Guidelines and the latest scientific evidence.

AddedRecital 11: (11) It is important that pollutants of emerging concern, such as ultrafine particles, black carbon and elemental carbon, as well as ammonia and the oxidative potential of particulate matter, be monitored in order to support scientific understanding of their effects on health and the environment, as recommended by the WHO, and with a view to establishing limit values for them in the framework of the first review of this Directive in 2028. The Commission should continue to monitor scientific developments regarding any other pollutants not covered by this Directive and assess the need to extend its provisions to these pollutants.

RemovedRecital 16: (16) Scientific evidence shows that sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, lead, benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, nickel some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ozone are responsible for significant negative impacts on human health that can result in premature death, and that there is no identifiable threshold below which those substances do not pose a risk to human health. Those substances damage most organ systems and are linked to many debilitating diseases, such as childhood and adult-onset asthma, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, impaired cognitive development and dementia. Although everyone is affected by those substances, certain groups are especially sensitive and vulnerable and more likely to experience adverse health effects, such as for example those with specific pre-existing health conditions (e.g. respiratory or cardiovascular diseases), pregnant women, newborns, children, the elderly, people living in poverty, people living with disabilities or people with inadequate access to medical care. Impact on human health and the environment occurs via concentrations in ambient air and via deposition.

AddedRecital 12: (12) Detailed measurements of fine particulate matter, black carbon, mercury and ammonia at rural background locations should be made in order to understand better the transboundary contribution and the impacts of those pollutants, and to develop appropriate policies, including the possible introduction of limit values, target values or critical levels. Such measurements should be made in a manner consistent with those of the cooperative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP) set up under the 1979 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution approved by Council Decision 81/462/EEC of 11 June 198144 and its Protocols, including the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone of 1999, which was revised in 2012 .

RemovedRecital 16 a (new): (16a) Air pollution affects the human body in the short and long term, in ways that are detrimental to health. Even though air pollution is a universal health problem that affects everyone on this planet, the risks are not evenly distributed amongst the population, with some groups of people at greater risk of harm. Vulnerable people appear to be most at risk, as highlighted by studies linking air pollution to decreased cognitive performance among the elderly as well as suggesting that poor air quality is especially dangerous to children. This Directive recognises the increased risks and specific needs of sensitive population and vulnerable groups as regards air pollution and aims at addressing and ending health inequalities caused by polluted air.

AddedAmendment in order to safeguard the internal logic of the text.

RemovedRecital 18: (18) The average exposure of the population to the pollutants with the highest documented impact on human health, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), should be reduced based on the most up-to-date WHO recommendations. To this end, an average exposure reduction obligation should be introduced for these pollutants, in addition to limit values, and should by no means serve as a substitute for those limit values, which have been demonstrated to be the most effectively enforceable standards to date.

AddedRecital 15: (15) In order to protect human health and the environment as a whole, it is particularly important to combat emissions of pollutants at source and to identify and implement the most effective emission reduction measures at local, national and Union level, in particular when it comes to emissions from agriculture, industries, transport, heating and cooling systems and energy generation. Relevant Union legislation such as on European vehicle emission standards or on industrial emissions are instrumental in further reducing ambient air pollution. Therefore, emissions of harmful air pollutants should be avoided, prevented or reduced and appropriate standards set for ambient air quality on the basis of the latest scientific evidence as published in the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines and in line with the Zero Pollution Action Plan for 2050.

RemovedRecital 19: (19) The Fitness Check of the Ambient Air Quality Directives (Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC)45 has shown that limit values are more effective in bringing down pollutant concentrations than other types of air quality standards, such as target values. With the aim of minimising harmful effects on human health, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups and sensitive populations, and the environment limit values should be set for the concentration of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone, lead, benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air. To ensure effective protection against harmful effects on ecosystems, those limit values should be regularly updated in light of the most recent recommendations by the WHO. Benzo(a)pyrene should be used as a marker for the carcinogenic risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air.

AddedNew drafting for consistency with the changes made to the wording used when mentioning the WHO Air Quality Guidelines and the latest scientific evidence, as well as with Annexes I and VII.

RemovedRecital 21: (21) Ozone is a transboundary pollutant formed in the atmosphere from the emission of primary pollutants, some of which are addressed by Directive 2016/2284/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council46. Ground-level ozone adversely affects not only human health but also vegetation and ecosystems, leading to decreased crop yields and forest growth, and loss of biodiversity. Progress towards the air quality limit value and long-term objectives for ozone set in this Directive should be determined by the targets and emission reduction commitments provided for in Directive 2016/2284/EU and, by implementing cost-effective measures and air quality plans .

AddedRecital 15 a (new): (15a) Agriculture is a significant source of air pollution: it accounts for around 93 % of total ammonia emissions in the Union, while the agricultural emissions of methane, the precursor of ozone ground level formation, and of particulate matter such as PM10, account for about 54 % of total emissions of this gas in the Union. Member States should take the necessary measures to reduce emissions in agriculture, alongside those in the other sectors, which could include, inter alia, measures to reduce emissions linked to livestock management, such as nitrogen management systems and low-emission animal housing systems, sustainable management of agricultural waste, sustainable crop management, precision farming, efficient use of resources and alternative energy sources.

RemovedOzone is an important air pollutant, with well-established health effects of short-term and long-term exposure and therefore commonly used in air pollution burden assessments. For that reason, the ozone target value for the protection of human health has been transformed into a limit value in the Rapporteur proposal (Annex I). Amendment to clarify the impacts of ozone pollution, in relation to the changes on the proposal.

AddedAmendment necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

RemovedRecital 22: (22) The existing ozone target values of ensuring effective protection against harmful effects on human health should be updated and transformed, in light of the most recent recommendations of the World Health Organization, into a legally binding limit value in order to ensure that adequate measures to decrease ozone concentrations across the Union are taken and that the health of Union citizens is better protected.

AddedRecital 15 b (new): (15b) The Commission should assess the consistency of any relevant draft measure or legislative proposal, including budgetary proposals, with the air quality standards set out in this Directive, before adoption, and include that assessment in any impact assessment accompanying those measures or proposals, and make the result of that assessment publicly available at the time of adoption. The Commission should endeavour to align its draft measures and legislative proposals with the objectives of this Directive. In any case of non-alignment, the Commission should provide its reasons as part of the consistency assessment.

RemovedAmendment to reflect the change in the proposal of the ozone target value for protection of human into a limit value.

AddedAmendment necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

RemovedRecital 23: (23) An alert threshold and an information threshold for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone, should be set for the protection of the general population, and especially vulnerable groups and sensitive sections, from brief exposures to elevated concentrations of pollutants. Those thresholds should trigger the dissemination of information to the public on the associated health risks of exposure and the implementation, of short-term measures to reduce pollution levels where the alert threshold is exceeded.

AddedRecital 15 c (new): (15c) Air pollutants emitted from the transport sector pose a particular risk to the health of people living in urban areas and near transport hubs. Member States and the relevant regional and local authorities should therefore consider implementing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and invest in zero-emission technologies and measures enabling a modal shift towards active, collective and sustainable transport systems, as well as the creation of green spaces and pedestrian areas in the cities with the aim to reduce air pollution and road congestion, especially in urban areas in line with the communication of the Commission of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy - putting European transport on track for the future’. Member States should also take all necessary measures to accelerate the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, in particular electric recharging infrastructure for light- and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as carry out regular transport infrastructure quality checks to identify the areas in need of decongestion and infrastructure optimisation, and take appropriate measures, with the support of Union funding, where applicable.

RemovedInformation thresholds are designed to protect the vulnerable population from air pollution. Given that sensitive groups bear a disproportionate burden, it is unfounded that information thresholds are only applicable for ozone only. Amendment consistent with recommended changes to Article 15 and Annex I.

AddedAmendment necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.