PRESS
RELEASE - Copenhagen, Tuesday, 28th March, 2006
- Polluting emissions from transport continue to
impact on health and undermine progress towards
Kyoto targets, says a new report from the European
Environment Agency (EEA).
"Transport and environment
2005: Facing a Dilemma", launched today in
Brussels, shows that more goods and passengers are
being transported farther and more frequently across
Europe. While greenhouse gas emissions from other
sectors decreased, those from transport increased
in the EEA countries by more than 22 % between 11000
and 2003.
Ireland has experienced an increase
of 130 % in greenhouse gas emissions from transport
- excluding aviation and maritime - a reflection
of its economic growth. Germany, on the other hand,
has experienced only a 5 % increase, consistent
with its economic experience, the report says.
Air passenger transport grew at
the fastest rate (96 % between 11000 - 2002), while
the share of road and rail remained constant. Relative
decoupling of growth in freight transport volumes
from economic growth has only been achieved in the
EU-10 group of new Member States, where transport
volumes grew less than the economy as a whole. Relative
decoupling of passenger transport volumes has been
achieved in the last six years for which data is
available for the EEA countries as a whole, but
not for all member countries every year.
"Transport, especially road
transport, is becoming cleaner because of increasingly
strict emission standards and improved technology.
However increases in demand continue to outstrip
positive innovations. We are locked into patterns
that are not easily changed in the short term. Long
term policy initiatives are needed to encourage
people to change their habits," says Professor
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA.
Transport is not the only reason
for poor air quality. However by exposing people
to emissions at street level it can have a serious
impact on the health of the general public. Moreover,
traffic is a significant source of emissions of
fine and ultra-fine particles in cities and there
is growing evidence that these particles have serious
effects on health.
The report foresees that many
European cities will continue to fail air quality
limits. Ozone incidents - when pollution interacts
with sunlight to cause a high level of Ozone (O3)
in the lower atmosphere - are frequent now, and
air quality limits set for ozone in 2010 are widely
exceeded already. The impacts on health are severe:
estimates suggest that as many as 370, 000 people
die prematurely every year in Europe due to air
pollution.
And while research into alternative
fuels is important, use of so called 'bio-fuels',
on a scale where it will significantly reduce total
greenhouse gas emissions, will not be a reality
for many years. In the meantime, transport will
continue putting pressure on the continent's environment,
the report says.
Notes to the editor:
Web Links:
Term report:http://reports.eea.eu.int/eea_report_2006_3/en
Key Facts:
Passenger transport
An increase of 30% between 11000 - 2002
Freight transport
An increase of 34% between 11000 - 2002
Air transport
An increase of 96% between 11000 – 2002 in the 23
EEA member states studied: the EU-15 plus Czech
Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Norway,
Iceland and Turkey), based on passenger kilometres.
EU10:
Refers to the 10 newest members of the EU who joined
in 2004: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and
Slovenia.
EU15:
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Portugal, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
EEA member countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Fine or (PM10) Particulates: describes
the fraction of airborne particulate matter that
is less than 10 microns in size. Fine particles
are of the greatest concern since they are capable
of being easily transported over long distances
on currents of air. Fine particles may also be drawn
into the respiratory airways and the smallest particles
can penetrate the very deepest parts of the lung.
PM10 and other particulate matter may vary considerably
in chemical and physical composition. The principal
sources of these particles are combustion processes,
including traffic and industry.
Ozone is formed by a 'cocktail'
of pollutants - nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic
compounds - which break down due to the action of
sunlight, releasing highly reactive atomic oxygen
(O) which reacts with atmospheric oxygen (O 2 )
to form ozone (O 3 ). At lower levels of the atmosphere
Ozone is an irritant to the eyes and the respiratory
system.
About the European Environment
Agency (EEA):
The EEA is based in Copenhagen. The agency aims
to help achieve significant and measurable improvement
in Europe's environment through the provision of
timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information
to policy makers and the public.
