Air pollution from large European industry continues to cause significant damage to the environment, climate and people’s health. However, according to an updated analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the cost of this pollution has declined by about a third during the past decade. Published this week, the analysis shows that just a small fraction of the most polluting facilities — many of them coal power plants — causes half of the total damage.
Costs of industrial pollution from largest facilities decline in Europe but remain at 2% of EU GDP
The 2024 update of the EEA briefing ‘The costs to health and the environment from industrial air pollution in Europe’ presents the latest assessment of the trends in externalities of industrial air pollution from about 10,000 largest facilities in Europe, from 2012 to 2021. These facilities report data on pollutant releases and transfers to the European Industrial Emissions Portal.
Costs of air pollution caused by Europe’s largest industrial plants are substantial, averaging between EUR 268 to EUR 428 billion per year, the EEA analysis shows. In 2021, these costs corresponded to about 2% of the EU’s GDP. Just one percent (107) of the most polluting industrial facilities — many of them coal power plants — caused half of the total damage.
However, the EEA analysis also shows that environmental and health costs of European industry have decreased by a third (-33%) from 2012 to 2021. The EU energy sector has accounted for the vast majority — about 80% — of the total decrease, mainly by adopting best available techniques (BAT) and shifting to renewables and less polluting fuels largely as result of EU action.
The European Green Deal has promoted making Europe’s industry greener and more digital. Most recently, the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive and the new Industrial Emissions Portal Regulation (IEPR) aim to drive large European industry towards decarbonisation, zero pollution, circular economy and innovation. Strengthening of the EU Air Quality Directive is expected to further support this development by bringing pollution limits closer to the health-based guidelines of the World Health Organization.
The EEA will publish the 2nd zero-pollution monitoring and outlook report together with the European Commission later this year. To highlight the challenges and opportunities in the EU energy transition, this year’s report will map the 100 most polluting large combustion plants (LCP) in the EU.
Key messages
- Europe’s industry has made significant progress in reducing its environment and climate impacts. Over the last decade, external costs caused by air pollution from industry decreased by nearly 35%, although they rebounded somewhat after a drop in 2020 driven by lower economic activity in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Almost 80% of the decrease in total external costs during the last decade occurred in the energy sector (thermal plants generating electricity and heat). This has been driven by the successful implementation of best available techniques (BAT) in the sector and a shift to less polluting and carbon-intensive fuels driven by environmental and climate policies. Consequently, other industrial sectors have lower relative reductions in external costs and there may still be potential for further improving environmental performance.
- Just over 100 of approximately 10,000 facilities addressed in this study are responsible for 50% of the aggregate damage caused by their air emissions. In 2021, the top five Member States with facilities contributing the highest external costs were Germany, Poland, Italy, France, and Spain. When costs are compared to the GDP as an indicator of relative performance per unit of national economic output, the top five countries were Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Greece, and Cyprus.
- Over the last decade (2012-2021), the order of countries in both rankings has been stable, with a few exceptions. This means that throughout this period, while industrial emissions have been decreasing at European Union (EU) level, Member States’ relative contributions have been consistent, even when considering the damage/GDP ratio (in euros) mentioned above.
- The European Green Deal has promoted the transformation of Europe’s industry towards a more digital and green future. The Zero Pollution ambition and future policy plans to transform industry are an opportunity to further support this objective and continue decreasing the pollution impacts from the sector.
External link
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 