According to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 300,000 people die each year from respiratory illnesses caused by poor air quality, and millions more get sick. European citizens may now be able to claim compensation for health problems caused by:
Failure to comply with pollution limits.
In Spain alone, more than 21,000 people are said to have died from similar causes last year (with “airborne particles” cited as the specific cause).
To reduce these significant losses, new laws have been enacted that set new, stricter emission limits. 25 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) to 10 μg/m3 per year for PM 2.5 particulate matter and 40 μg/m3 to 20 μg/m3 for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). The limit for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is set at 20 μg/m3. Both PM 2.5 and NO₂ are the two substances identified as the most harmful to health when it comes to urban air.
We are told that these annual limits must be met by 2030, but this is not the real innovation of this new policy. This means that if an EU member state fails to meet these emissions targets and its population becomes ill, it will be able to claim and receive compensation for any harm to health caused by non-compliance.
In addition to its compensation, the EU has been given the power to impose multi-million euro fines on countries that do not comply with the regulation.
This latest emissions regulation aims to achieve zero emissions by 2050. The European Union (EU) believes that if this could be achieved, hundreds of thousands of deaths each year from pollution would be significantly reduced.
Electrek’s view
BMW iX1; Via BMW.
This latest legislation by the European Parliament does the right thing by prioritizing the health and safety of citizens over the wants and desires of corporations. If you think about it, companies like BMW, whose CEO Oliver Zipse recently said that a future EU ICE ban is “no longer realistic”.
But that’s because while money is fake, human lives are real and at stake (in more ways than one). So I hope you all wake up and do the right thing here. – no matter how bleak the chances of it happening seem.
Source | Image: European Parliament, via Motorpassion. Featured image by Janak Bhatta under Creative Commons license.
FTC: We use automated affiliate links that generate income. more.
