Emissions
of nitrogen oxides are down by 30% since the early
11000’s, according to a report released today
by the European Environment Agency. The report,
‘Annual European Community LRTAP Convention emission
inventory 11000-2004’ also says that emissions
of sulphur (SOx) as reported by Member States
dropped by 70% between 11000 and 2004 within the
EU-15.
Emissions reductions took place
in many of the sectors reported by countries –
transport, energy, agriculture and waste, and
at EU-15 level emission reductions were recorded
with other main air pollutants - carbon monoxide
(-50%) ammonia (-8%) and Non methane volatile
organic compounds (NMVOC) (-45%).
The inventory report shows emission
trends and data availability for the EU-25, and
is published annually. Data from Member States
are compiled by the European Environment Agency
on behalf of the European Commission as part of
the Community’s legal reporting obligations for
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
(UNECE LRTAP Convention). This report therefore
specifically documents the emissions data officially
reported by Member States. Other EEA publications
provide an assessment of why changes in the reported
emissions have occurred.
In several instances, total
emissions of air pollutants for the EU-25 were
not fully estimated due to a lack of data. As
a result, future recommendations include improving
the completeness of submissions received from
Member States as well as developing more formal
quality assurance procedures.
Friends at the gates - Major
success for EEA open house event
Nearly a thousand Copenhageners
visited the European Environment Agency when we
stayed open to the public all evening during Copenhagen
Culture night on the 13th October.
The evening’s program was kicked
off with a very well attended panel debate highlighting
the topic of bio-energy as an option for Denmark
from various angles. EEA project manager Peder
Jensen explained the opportunities and limitations
of bioenergy in Denmark, while the chairman of
the energy committee of the Danish parliament
Eyvind Vesselbo and MP Anne Grete Homsgaard gave
the political views from the government and opposition
side respectively, and Lene Lange from the Danish
company Novozymes offered the industry perspective.
The debate, chaired by Danish Radio journalist
Karen Hjulmand, also benefited from an active
audience with lots of questions to the panel.
A wide range of activities were
on offer for visitors of all ages throughout the
evening. A treasure hunt on the theme of energy
and aimed specifically at children presented participants
with a variety of tasks to solve and questions
to answer. A theatre group from a local school
(Ballerup ungdomsskole) performed a piece with
an environmental theme, especially written for
the evening and based on the H.C. Andersen fairy-tale
“The Nightingale” and (mainly unplugged) music
was provided by the choir KonTakt and the urban
street-rock band Oooh Sticky.
EEA communications manager Marion
Hannerup says “The success of the evening shows
that the environment is definitely of interest
to the general public. The event clearly helped
raise awareness of both the Agency and the issue
of energy saving among Copenhageners.”
