European environment ministers have sidestepped the key emissions reduction strategy of classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant during consideration of new laws to limit industrial pollution.
Brussels / Luxembourg – European environment ministers have sidestepped the key emissions reduction strategy of classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant during consideration of new laws to limit industrial pollution. The move further questions Europe's claim to be a leader in climate action, with California requiring carbon pollution mitigation for the last two years and reclassification under consideration elsewhere.
The EU Environment Council reached a common position on the new Industrial Emissions Directive. The draft law overhauls the framework for controlling pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust from thousands of industrial installations across Europe, combining and strengthening seven earlier pieces of legislation.
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WWF is calling for carbon dioxide standards to be added to the proposal, in order to respond adequately to the increasing scale and urgency of the global climate crisis. Such a move could cut Europe’s total greenhouse gas emissions by around a quarter over the next two decades. But EU ministers failed on this occasion to seize the opportunity.
