3 July 2017: Eleven EU Member States did not comply with EU air pollution limits in 2015, mostly due to motor vehicle emissions and pollution from agricultural sources. The EU standards were set in 2010 and will apply until 2019, after which stricter standards will come into force in 2020. A briefing by the European Environment Agency (EEA) found that 18 out of 23 reporting member states do not consider themselves to be on track to meet the standards that will apply from 2020.

The EU standards, set out in its National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive, restrict emissions for nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden all reported exceeding the acceptable emission levels for one or more of these pollutants, with Germany breaching the standards for three pollutants. The EEA identifies air pollution as the single largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing problems for both human and ecosystem health. Air pollution reduces lifespans and contributes to acidification of surface water and soil and can cause eutrophication in sensitive habitats, among other negative impacts.

The EU region as a whole has successfully limited emissions for three pollutants (NMVOCs, SO2, and PM2.5) to levels that are below the standards that will apply from 2020. However, the EU will need to make greater reductions to meet the agreed reduction by 2020 of NOx emissions, which are released from motor vehicles. The EEA found that emissions reductions from road transport have been lower than originally expected over the past two decades due to increases in the transport sector and larger than expected growth in diesel vehicles. [EEA Press Release] [Data Visualization] [EEA Briefing on Status of Emission Reductions]