Cleaner air: MEPs vote on tougher emission limits for key air pollutants | WPN World People News

Close to half a million Europeans die every year from diseases linked to the millions of tons of gases and particulates human activity releases into the atmosphere. These range from sulphur dioxide that contributes to the acid rain that damages buildings and kills plants, to tiny particulate matter that can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. On Wednesday 23 November, MEPs vote to set tougher emission limits for key air pollutants.

Over the last couple of decades, emissions in most countries have significantly decreased, but pollution is still responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths in Europe each year.

UK ECR member Julie Girling is responsible for steering the proposal through Parliament. “This is an urgent public health crisis and between 2020 and 2030 we will improve the health outcomes by 50%," she said in July following the committee vote. "That means 200,000 people across Europe each year not losing their lives prematurely and that’s a huge impact.”

The new directive, already informally agreed with governments, would set national targets to reduce emissions from five key air pollutants by 2030 compared to 2005. For more details, check out the table below:

Source: European Parliament