Directive (EU) 2016/2284 establishes national emission reduction commitments for each Member State for 2020-2029.
These commitments cover five air pollutants that have a major negative impact on human health and the environment: i) sulphur dioxide (SO2); ii) nitrogen oxides (NOx); iii) non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs); iv) ammonia (NH3); and v) fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
The directive also aligns emission reduction commitments under EU law with relevant international commitments.
Article 13 of the directive calls on the Commission to review it by 31 December 2025. The review will seek to determine the extent to which the directive has achieved its objective of protecting human health and the environment by reducing national emissions of the five main air pollutants. It will also take into account the targets set in the 2021 zero pollution action plan.
In addition, the evaluation will look at whether the directive has contributed to EU air quality policy, whether it is consistent with it and whether it has created synergies with other EU policies.
This is particularly important in view of the Commission’s proposal of 24 October 2022 for a revision of EU air quality standards.
The evaluation will analyse the directive and its application in all member states since its adoption in 2016. The geographical scope of the evaluation is the territory of the European Union, although cross-border air pollution and pollution in neighbouring third countries will also be taken into account to some extent.
The evaluation will be based on the standardised criteria set out in the Better Regulation Guidelines (effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value).
A public consultation, launched on 3 September 2024, is open until 26 November in all official EU languages.
The consultation aims to gather input from stakeholders in order to contribute to an in-depth evaluation of the directive, in line with the Commission’s standardised evaluation criteria listed above.
It also aims to give stakeholders and the public the opportunity to share their experiences and views on the functioning of the directive, which, according to the European Commission, will contribute to the evidence base, transparency and accountability of the evaluation process.
The public, stakeholder organisations, social partners, the scientific community, Member States and public authorities, including those contributing to the drawing up of national air pollution control programmes and to the compilation of national inventories and projections of air pollutant emissions, are encouraged to contribute to the assessment process.
Also encouraged to contribute to the
information, such as scientists, including modellers, and civil society organisations.
Once the public consultation has been completed, the Commission will publish a summary report on its website and will also attach a summary of all the consultation activities carried out to the evaluation report, scheduled for the fourth quarter of next year.
Our team is at your disposal for more information.
