International, the EU, and the UK Environmental Regulations - Essay Example

?Air pollution control: an overview of international, EU and UK environmental regulations Introduction For several decades air pollution remains one of the major problems having a great impact on the global environment. Although the levels of air pollution differ between countries and regions, nevertheless, economy, environment and citizens suffer from air pollution in both developed and developing countries. According to the World Health Organisation in Europe (WHOE), every year about 2 million people die from diseases related to air pollution; annually about 100,000 premature adult deaths in the Europe is related to air pollution; and the annual health cost of air pollution in such countries as Austria, France and Switzerland is estimated as ?30 billion (Colls 2002: p.1). One can agree with Colls (2002) who asserts, “Clearly we are paying a high price, both in lives and money, for polluting the atmosphere” (p.1). That’s why authorities and non-governmental organisations of all levels, from local to international, strive to establish regulations, standards and decision-making procedures for air pollution control. This paper is aimed to present an overview of major regulations in the air pollution control area at three levels: the world, the European Union and the United Kingdom. The overview will help to better understand similarities and differences in air pollution control on global and local scopes, as well as to trace the development of air pollution legislation. The first section introduces a concept of air pollution and gives a brief overview of its causes and effects, focusing mainly on hazards for health and environment. The following three sections describe current air pollution regulations, their predecessors and trends for the future development at the international level, in the EU and in the UK accordingly. In conclusion, the main points are summarised. 1. Air pollution, its causes and effects Air pollution was recognised as one of the major worldwide environmental problems in 1970s (UNECE 2004). In a broad sense pollution can be defined as “the introduction by man into the environment of substances or energy liable to cause hazard to human health, harm to living resources and ecological systems, damage to structure or amenity or interference with legitimate use of the environment” (Colls 2002: 1). The definition emphasises a determinative role of man in air pollution – only substances, which arise from people’s activities are counted as pollution; gases and chemicals produced in air naturally (e.g. from volcanoes or as a result of the vegetation decay) are not considered to be pollutants. The nature and intensity of people’s activities, the type of used chemicals and the surrounding meteorological conditions determine the composition and concentration of pollutants. It is widely acknowledged that motor vehicles produce the most toxic gases, and they are considered as the major source of outdoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution is also caused by activities of industrial and commercial production plants, coal-fired power stations, cargo transports and other activities related to smoke and gas emission. Indoor air pollution is no less hazardous, in particular, in developing countries, where coal and biomass fuels are still widely used in homes for heating and cooking. According to WHO (2008), the air pollution level in such homes may be 10-50 times higher than maximum allowable values. Among pollutants having the most severe impact on health and environment are: “hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S)” (Clean Air World, n.d.). WHOE (2006) considers airborne fine dust, known as particulate matter (PM), as a very hazardous pollutant, which can be either emitted directly to the air or formed as a result of chemical reactions of certain gases (e.g. sulphur dioxide or ammonia (NH3)). There are also greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), which in a great extent contribute to climate change and cause global warming effects. In addition, Tiwary and Colls (2010) mention heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, vanadium, manganese and chromium as toxic air contaminants. EUROPA (2007) considers that air pollution has the most harmful impact in: Human health – causing a wide range of diseases of respiratory and cardiovascular systems, immune system, brain disorders, metabolic diseases, skin diseases, etc. Acidification – an excess of acid in atmosphere, which causes acid rains that in turn kill ecosystems (rivers, lakes, forests), as well as damages materials, historical buildings and sites. Eutrophication - an excess of nitrogen oxides and ammonia also damages ecosystems and causes a loss of biodiversity. It is evidently that air pollution is caused in the most cases by local sources, but the result may be not local as a hazardous emission can move in atmosphere a long way off. Thus, air pollution more often is considered as a trans-boundary or even a trans-national problem, particularly, taking into consideration that even minor concentration of air pollutants may entail adverse health effects (WHO 2008). In regard to the atmospheric lifetime of the air pollutants four typical spatial scales are distinguished: local, urban, regional and hemispheric or global scales (WHOE 2006: p.11). Air pollution can be significantly lowered by using methods and technologies that control gas and particles emission, preventing large emissions and outbursts. WHO (2008) asserts that a low level of air pollution in its turn will cause a considerable reduction of respiratory infections and lung cancer, as well as heart and vascular diseases. Since individuals can not control the exposure to air pollutants hazardous for their health, air quality control and air pollution reduction are completely under the responsibility of national, regional and international authorities. 2. International air pollution control regulations As we saw above, air pollution is not a local problem; its harmful effect can spread far away from the locality of its source. In this respect the international system of regulations seems to be an important means of air pollution control at the world level. Magraw & Gorin (n.d.) define two primary types of international law; both of them play a certain role in international air pollution legislation. These are customary law and treaties. Customary law is a generally followed practice that is introduced in accordance with requirements of other international law. Regarding air pollution control, it is possible to point out two main principles, which all countries are obliged to adhere to (Magraw & Gorin, n.d.): The first principle is stated in the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment (1972) as Principle 21 and in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) as Principle 2. It declares that every country in the world has “the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction” (UNEP 1992). The second principle is also called the Precautionary principle, it is stated in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) as Principle 15: “where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation” (UNEP 1992). Treaties (conventions or protocols) are agreements between countries; they are related to issues that are implemented domestically. Among the great number of treaties regulating air pollution issues between countries one can pick out several the most significant ones: The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution signed by governments of 34 countries and the European Community (EC) in 1979. The Convention entered into force in 1983 and later it was extended by eight protocols related to the most hazardous air pollutants. Today 49 Parties in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) cooperate in reducing air emissions and improving environment. According to UNECE (2004), the Convention was a first legislation, which has put air pollution issues on the broad international basis. In 1994 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered in force, it address the climate change and global warming issues, related to green house gases (GHG) and carbon emission in the atmosphere. The Convention’s ideas were developed and finalised in the Kyoto Protocol (1997) entered into force in 2005. These regulations are considered as important actions resulting in countries’ real policies of reducing and stabilising of GHG emissions. The 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) set a regulation of using POPs in accordance to environmentally-friendly methods, including restrictions and bans for certain chemicals (Magraw & Gorin, n.d.). In addition to intergovernmental regulations there are also voluntary Corporate Codes of Conduct. They arise often as response of transnational corporations or international organisations on the lack of effective domestic and adequate international laws. A good example of such Corporate Codes of Conduct in environmental and air pollution control is a management standard ISO 14000 of the International Organization for Standardisation. The standard is not a regulation in a strict sense; it rather contains general procedures for managers to establish a corporate policy aimed to address different environmental problems, including pollution reducing (Magraw & Gorin, n.d.). 3. Air pollution control regulations in the European Union Many experts agree that in the last two decades European industry has made a significant progress in the improving of environmental performance. It is important to note that along with the considerable growth of the EU economy, emissions of the main air pollutants have been reduced. Such progress is determined by a combination of different approaches undertaken within the EU for the purpose of air pollution control. According to Kiss (2003) one can trace three main stages in the EU environmental legislation evolution: 1. Environmental protection without specific legal basis. Up to 1972 the EC government did not pay specific attention to the environmental protection policy. The Stockholm Conference in June 1972 on the Human Environment was a key event giving a powerful incentive to the development of the first Programme of Action in this area, which was adopted in November 1972. Up to now the Programme is considered as a powerful tool for integration and coordination of efforts undertaken in the environmental protection area within the EU. The legal basis for the most of the EC environmental legislation during the first period were the article 100 and article 235 of the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community (“Treaty of Rome”) (Kiss 2004: p.3). In regard to air pollution, Kiss (2004: p.4) gives examples of several important regulation directives, such as: “Pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community” (Council Directive 76/464/EEC); or “Combating of air pollution from industrial plants” (Council Directive 84/360/EEC). In 1985 the EC Court of Justice claimed for the first time that environmental protection is “one of the Community’s essential objectives” (Case 240/83 1985 cited in Kiss 2004: p.4), this meant a significant shift in environmental law of the EU. 2. Recognising of environmental protection as a constitutional objective. Several important treaties were adopted in this period, which influenced profoundly on the policy of the EC in environmental protection. These are: the Single European Act (1986); the Maastricht Treaty on European Union (1992); the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997). These documents gave a clear description of objectives, provisions and principles to protect the environment within the EU, including the precautionary principle. Barnes & Barnes (1999) explain the considerable changes in the EC environment policy in 1990s by the following main reasons: the changed geopolitical structure of Europe brought up environmental challenges and opportunities of the EU at the new level; the EC recognised the danger of fragmented and therefore ineffective policy that was in place within the EU in that time; the EC intended to seek a policy of the long-term sustainable development. Regarding to air pollution issues the shift in the EU environmental policy was resulted in the proposal for long-term objectives for air quality within the Fifth Environmental Action Programme. It was stated that “all people should be effectively protected against recognized health risks from air pollution” and that “permitted concentration levels of air pollutants should take into account the protection of the environment” (Agren 2001: p.11). Some other important regulations made in that period are presented in Table 1. Table 1. The major EU Regulations in the air pollution control area in 1984-1996. Regulation Date Key statements Air Quality Framework Directive (AFD) (84/360/EEC) 1984 It is aimed to control air pollution from industrial plants, suggests the “best available technology not entailing excessive cost”. 1st UNECE Sulphur (Helsinki) Protocol 1985 Required 30% reduction in national SO2 emissions by 1993. The UK did not sign it. Large Combustion Plant Directive (88/609/EEC) 1988 Included new plant emissions limits for SO2 and national emission ceilings for existing plants. Auto-Oil Programme 1992 Set a basis for the number of directives on fuel quality and performance standards for road vehicles and motor fuels. 2nd UNECE Sulphur (Oslo) Protocol 1994 Set new plant emission limits and fuel specifications. EU Directive in Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) 1996 Required the adoption of Best Available Techniques (BAT) to prevent or minimise pollution. Source: Eames 2000: p.11. 3. New mechanisms of environmental protection. In 2001, aiming to improve the air quality policy, the European Commission launched the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme. Within the CAFE program such important air pollution problems as emission of fine particles and ground-level ozone, acidification and eutrophication, and some others gained a highest priority for assessing and analysis (Agren 2001). The results of the measures allowed introducing the next phase of the EU’s air quality policy. In 2002 the Sixth Environmental Action Programme (6EAP) was adopted; it is intended “to promote the process of integration of environmental concern into all Community policies and activities on order to reduce pressures on the environment from various sources” (Kiss 2004: p.117). In the framework of the 6EAP the special Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution was developed and adopted in 2005 along with the proposal for the new ambient air quality Directive (IP/05/1170) (EUROPA 2007). Experts agree that the Thematic Strategy is the next generation of the EU policy in air pollution control, which set clear objectives and helps to identify effective instruments to achieve these objectives, involving citizens, enterprises, and other stakeholders. Many directives presented in the previous section became the main drivers of the current air pollution regulatory framework in the EU. Nowadays the most important regulations in this area are: the UNECE protocols; the Air Quality Framework Directive and its four daughter directives; the National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC); the Auto-Oil Programme, the VOC Solvents Emissions Directive amended through the Paints Directive (2004/42/EC); the Waste Incineration (2000/76/EC); and the IPPC Directive (Watkiss et al. 2004: p.3). 4. Air pollution control regulations in the United Kingdom Air pollution problems were known in the UK even in the 13th century when royal proclamations prohibited using coal in London. The UK is also the first industrialised country where air pollution started to be regulated by the government. The first regulation acts were the Railway Clauses Consolidated Act (1845), The Improvement Clauses Act (1847) and the Alkali, etc. Works Regulation Act (1863), which addressed the issues of smoke emissions from railway engines and factories (Richardson & Wood 2006). Nevertheless, coal combustion in industrial factories and in domestic fireplaces caused severe air pollution (with sulphur dioxide (SO2) as the main pollutant) until the 1950s. In December 1952 the most severe Great Smog in London caused about 4,000 premature deaths, and only this horrible event stimulated public and government debates that led to the adoption of the first Clean Air Act in 1956, which was amended in 1993. Although the Act was focused primarily on smoke from coal, it was extremely important, because it gave impetus to further actions in environment and health protection in the UK (POST 2002). Since the 1970s the UK has experienced a significant reduction of local air pollution (see Fig.1). Cole et al. (2004) explain the reductions, firstly, by the switch from coal to gas fired power stations, and, secondly, by the using of modern abatement technologies in transport and industry. While coal combustion is no longer the main source of air pollution, other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, ammonia and particles are of greatest concern for today’s UK regulations (DEFRA 2010). Figure 1. Emission trends of key pollutants in the UK. Source: DEFRA 2010: p.6. The stable reduction in air pollutants' emissions occurs largely due to the specific ‘British’ approach to environmental enforcement, which has particular characteristics, described by Bell & McGillivray (2008: pp.275-276) as follows: flexibility in the setting of individualized emission and process standards; wide definitions found in key statutory provisions; informal guidance on the interpretation of statutory rules; reliance on self-regulation and voluntary compliance; the use of discretionary powers rather than mandatory duties. The main feature of the UK air pollution regulation under traditional command and control schemes is that responsibility is split between the governmental Environment Agency and local authorities. The Environmental Protection Acts of 1990 and 1995 set a framework according to which the responsibility for smaller factories is given to local authorities, they have to provide regular assessment of air quality in accordance with standards and to undertake actions prescribed in Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regulations in a case if air quality does not meet the standard requirements. The large factories, which produce considerable level of air pollution, are regulated by the Environment Agency. Conditions under which enterprises are permitted to operate are mainly in form of emissions limits (‘ceilings’) and / or the use of Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) (Cole et al. 2004: p.11). In addition to formal regulations, in some cases informal regulations also take place in the UK. For example, the non-governmental organisation “Friends of the Earth UK” has published ‘The Polluting Factory Campaign Guide’ and host a website with useful information in environmental protection (http://www.foe.co.uk/). In 1997 the first UK Air Quality Strategy (AQS) was issued; for eight major air pollutants it set targets to be achieved to 2008. The strategy was developed partly in accordance with the EU Air Quality Framework Directive, although it included several national targets. In 2000 the first strategy was replaced by the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which tightened some targets and relaxed others, for instance targets for particles, because “it became clear that national measures alone would not be sufficient to achieve the 1997 PM target” (POST 2002: p.2). In addition, new targets concerning ecosystem and vegetation protection were introduced. The current Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was published in July 2007. It sets out new air quality standards and objectives, as well as establishes a new framework for dealing with fine particles (DEFRA 2007). Implementation of the strategy is accompanied by different regulations and amendments, such as the Air Quality Standard Regulation 2010, Climate Change Act 2008, Road Vehicles Regulations 2009 (SI 2196), Volatile Organic Compounds in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle Refinishing Products Regulations 2010 (SI 783), and many others. London’s size makes it the unique case in the UK air pollution legislation. As the city produces a very high level of pollutants, the special Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy was developed and launched in August 2002. It is aimed first of all to reduce air pollution caused by road traffic in the city. The UK environmental policy is being developed in cooperation with the EU and UNECE governments. The UK has already accepted the EU limits for several air pollutants, including the most hazardous NO2, PM, SO2 CO, lead, benzene, ozone and heavy metals. Moreover, the Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) regime, under which the Environment Agencies and local authorities regulated industrial emissions, was replaced by the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) regime, introduced by the EU IPPC Directive (POST 2002). But in some cases, the UK is criticised for its inability or reluctance to follow the EU standards. For example, in 2009 the UK breached the EU regulations concerning the levels of PM10s in urban areas, setting the higher limits for pollutants (Harkins & Rail 2009). 5. Conclusion One can agree that air pollution legislation have a positive effect on air quality. A number of research show that emissions of main air pollutants have been significantly reduced in Europe and in the UK during last decades. This, first of all, means the reducing of people’s exposure to such substances as sulphur dioxide, particles and lead, which are hazardous for health. We tend to link the successful results in air quality control with effective implementation of current national and international environmental law in the Europe. We see that the European Union is a powerful organisation having a lot of legislative, economical and political mechanisms at its disposal. However, we also see that the problem of air pollution is far from its final solution. We consider that today a far greater degree of cooperation on all levels, from local to global, is required. Because air pollution is a trans-boundary phenomenon it is evidently that only joint effort of all countries, regions and transnational alliances in air quality control can provide the truly clean and clear air over the Earth. References Agren, C. (2001) EU Legislation on Air Pollution and Acidification. ACID News, 2, 11-14. 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