1.2: Air Pollutant Emissions
To provide assessments related to emissions of pollutants, including toxic and hazardous pollutants, to air and where relevant
to other media. This will include tracking progress towards, and providing outlooks for, the achievement of targets inter
alia as defined in relevant EU and international legislation and evaluating the effectiveness of European policies and measures
to reduce emissions.
Other Information:
Analysis - Although emissions of key air pollutants have decreased in recent years, air pollution still causes substantial
adverse impacts on human health, ecosystems and crops. Polluting emissions in general arising from large and small installations,
and diffuse sources, such as from transport, agriculture and households, continue to cause concern. In 2009, the UNECE LRTAP
Gothenburg Protocol to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground‑level ozone as well as both the National Emissions Ceilings
(NEC) and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directives (IPPC) will still be under revision. In addition, towards
the end of 2009 the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) will be introduced, replacing the present European
Polluting Emissions Register (EPER). Action - We will achieve our objective by: • providing up-to-date and where possible
near‑real-time quality assured data, indicators and streamlined access to relevant air pollutant emissions websites, via SEIS,
Inspire and the EEA Data Centre on air; • supporting the European Commission on streamlining air pollutant emission and greenhouse
gas data collection and reporting under various existing legislation, including the NEC Directive and the greenhouse gas Monitoring
Mechanism; • producing the EU annual emission inventory reports for the UNECE Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention
and National Emissions Ceiling Directive and jointly with EMEP the review of national air emission inventory data; • providing
assessments on synergies and trade-offs between air pollutant emission and greenhouse gas emission reduction policies and
on the effectiveness of selected policies to reduce key air pollutant emissions and subsequent effects on air quality; • working
closely in cooperation with Eionet and other providers of data, the EEA's European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change,
the UNECE Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention (especially the EMEP programme, its centre on emissions inventories
and projections and its task force on emission inventories and projections) and with the European Commission services (including
Eurostat and JRC); • publishing on the EEA's website the EMEP/EEA air pollutant emissions inventory guidebook that will be
regularly updated by the UNECE EMEP task force on emission inventories and projections; and • hosting the European Commission
E-PRTR website and the IRIS database and contributing to associated reporting activities.
Indicator(s):
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