EC Takes Steps to Cut Industrial Emissions

December 21, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The proposed legislation will bring significant health and environmental benefits and create a better level playing field across the EU, reducing competition distortions between companies.

It will also simplify current legislation by merging seven directives into one, significantly cutting the administrative burden for industry and public authorities.

Stavros Dimas, EC environment commissioner, said, "Industrial emissions in the European Union remain too high and are having detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Clearer and stricter rules are needed to ensure that industrial installations comply with the necessary high environmental standards across the EU. The EU must ensure that companies meet their obligations and use the best available techniques."

Shortcomings of current legislation
The aim of the new directive is to tackle the shortcomings of current legislation on industrial emissions. There are seven overlapping directives covering similar activities with approximately 52,000 installations falling under the scope of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive alone. The aim of the IPPC Directive (see MEMO/07/441) is to prevent and control emissions to air, water and soil from industrial installations across the EU.

The main thrust of the directive is to increase the use of "best available techniques" (BATs), an obligation to ensure that industrial operators use the most cost-effective techniques to achieve a high level of environmental protection.

Due to the weakness of existing legislation, the implementation of BATs across the EU required by the IPPC Directive has not occurred. Compliance with and enforcement of current legislation in the different member states is also inconsistent, and the complex legal framework carries unnecessary costs for industry.

The EC believes these issues need to be addressed in order to maintain a level playing field for industry while offering higher levels of protection for the environment and human health.

The most recent figures on the issuance of permits under the IPCC Directive suggest that, by mid-2006, only about 50% of the 52,000 installations concerned had received a permit. This shows member states have not made sufficient efforts to comply with the directive's deadline (Oct. 30, 2007).

The new directive on industrial emissions
The EC carried out substantial research before proposing the new directive. This included studies on competitiveness and options for streamlining legislation, reports on individual industry sectors and intensive discussions with stakeholders.

The result is a clearer and more coherent directive that merges the current IPPC Directive and six sectoral directives into a single new industrial emissions directive. It strengthens the application of BATs across the EU, particularly by restricting divergence from BATs to specific cases and placing greater emphasis on justifying the conditions laid down in the permits.

The directive tightens minimum emission limits in certain industrial sectors across the EU - particularly for large combustion plants where progress to reduce pollution is insufficient. It introduces minimum standards for environmental inspections of industrial installations and allows for more effective permit reviews.

The proposal also extends the scope of legislation to cover other polluting activities, such as medium-sized combustion plants, thus ensuring that all EU member states receive the same high level of environmental protection.

The directive is expected to provide significant benefits for the environment and human health. The emission reductions achieved at large combustion plants alone are likely to offer net benefits ranging between €7 to €28 billion per year. These reductions should also decrease premature deaths by 13,000 annually and years of life lost by 125,000. Significant health and environmental benefits are also expected in other sectors.

The proposed directive will reduce administrative costs for authorities and operators by between €105 and €255 million per year, thus contributing to the future sustainability of EU industry.

Because the proposal is not due to come into effect for several years, the EC will also put forward recommendations and work with member states to improve the implementation of existing legislation.

More information
For more information, see:

• Questions and answers on the Commission's proposal for the revision of industrial emissions legislation in the EU (MEMO/07/623)
• EU web site on the IPPC Directive

Source: European Commission.