The Netherlands is one of only four EU Member States that will achieve their national targets for better air quality in 2030, in 2030. Only ten of the 27 countries meet their 2020 targets to reduce harmful emissions into the air. According to the European Commission, most Member States are not doing enough to ensure that their inhabitants breathe clean air and to prevent respiratory diseases and premature death from air pollution.
In a first report on the implementation of EU policy for cleaner air, the day-to-day management of the EU states that in ten years’ time only the Netherlands, Cyprus, Croatia and Finland will have purified the air sufficiently of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. The emission of ammonia in agriculture, due to the spread of manure and the use of fertilizer, is the biggest culprit, according to Brussels. She proposed last month to reduce the use of fertilizers by 20 percent by 2030. That will steer EU countries in the right direction, but, according to the committee, Member States should step up their efforts to get cleaner air.
According to Brussels, there are 400,000 premature deaths from dirty air in the EU every year.
