Environment Law Update - Air pollution and integrated pollution control

Air pollution and integrated pollution control

United Kingdom

Greenhouse gases

DEFRA has published for consultation its draft National Allocation Plan (NAP), required under the EU Directive on Emissions Trading (2003/87/EC). It sets out how greenhouse gas emission allowances will be allocated to a range of installations and industry sectors. These include the electricity generation industry, oil refineries, the iron and steel industry, the minerals industry and paper, pulp and board manufacturing. The NAP covers the period from 2005-2007 and is designed to bring about a reduction of 16.3% in UK carbon dioxide emissions compared with 1990 levels. The installations covered by the scheme are responsible for around half of all UK carbon dioxide emissions. The consultation closed on 12 March 2004, with Member States required to submit their final NAP to the European Commission by the end of March 2004. The final allocation should be known by 1 October 2004. During Phase II of the scheme, which covers 2008-2012, allowances will be amended with the aim of reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010 compared with 1990 levels. A number of trade organisations representing the operators affected have issued statements expressing concerns over the adverse effects on business with electricity generators warning that electricity prices would increase significantly. The government however has pointed to the potential benefits and opportunities for UK industry such as selling allowances into the scheme. It also believes that UK service industries could gain from the likely increase in international trading in carbon.

(DEFRA, 19 January 2004)

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No 3311) came into force on 31 December 2003. The Regulations provide the framework for implementing the EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Directive for the UK. Activities covered by the Regulations are outlined in Schedule 1. Procedures for obtaining emission permits, appeals, allowances and enforcement are all addressed in the Regulations.

(SO, 18 December 2003)

A report commissioned by Friends of the Earth claims that 4.7%-5.3% of total global emissions attributable to mans' activity between 1882 and 2002 has been caused by ExxonMobil. The environment group says that the report should serve as a warning to all oil companies worldwide. It claims that the assessment could aid progress in bringing future legal action against a company for its greenhouse gas emissions.

(Friends of the Earth Press Release, 29 January 2004)

DEFRA has released final greenhouse gas emission estimates for 2002 and provisional figures for 2003. In 2002, emissions of the six greenhouse gases included in the Kyoto Protocol fell by 15.3% from the base year, 1990 for carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide and 1995 for the other gases. For 2003, emissions of carbon dioxide increased by around 1.5% compared with 2002. This was attributed to greater use of coal in electricity generation and a decrease in imported electricity. Total greenhouse gas emissions in 2003 were 14% below their base year. The UK's target under the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce emissions by 12.5% compared with the base year by 2008-2012.

(DEFRA News Release, 25 March 2004)

PPC

The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No 3296) came into force on 7 January 2004. They amend the PPC Regulations (SI 2000 No 1973) so as to amend the definition of 'specified waste management activity' to exclude from the definition certain categories of waste activity. This will restore the situation that existed under IPC permitting where waste management activities not constituting the primary activity of a process were excluded. In addition, the amending Regulations change the provisions relating to fit and proper persons so that the provisions only apply to specified waste management activities. They also defer certain relevant dates specified in the principal Regulations.

(SO, 16 December 2003)

The Pollution Prevention and Control (unauthorised Part B Processes) (England and Wales) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No 434) came into force on 17 March 2004. They amend the provisions of the principal 2000 Regulations applying to Part B Processes carried out without authorisation through the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The amending Regulations will mean that where an application has not been determined by the regulator, it will be deemed to have been refused after an expiry period of one month, or longer if agreed between the operator and regulator.

(SO, 21 February 2004)

A final consultation on statutory guidance notes for A(2) Ceramics Sector closed on

5 March 2004. The consultation paper contained the second part of guidance on the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for minimising pollution from ceramics installations. It covers the whiteware sector, which has now been included in the IPPC Directive. The local authority unit of the EA is in the process of drafting a series of sector guidance notes to be issued for consultation with industry and local authority stakeholders.

(DEFRA, 9 January 2004)

DEFRA has consulted on a series of process guidance notes for the metals sector. The consultations, which closed on 12 March 2004, applied to both the LAPC and LAPPC regimes. The process guidance notes, which apply to Part B Processes or Installations, provide technical guidance on the control of emissions to air from industrial processes regulated by local authorities. The notes, which have been revised after consultation with technical working groups, will eventually be issued as statutory guidance.

(DEFRA, 19 January 2004)

The EA has made available a CD containing application templates and guidance notes for installations in the food and drink sector applying for a PPC permit. It also contains horizontal guidance assessment tools and a range of other information. It should provide a useful aid for food and drink companies when applying for a PPC permit.

(EA, January 2004)

DEFRA has issued additional guidance concerning emission limit values for carbon dioxide under PPC and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). As some companies joining the first phase of the EU scheme will fall under the PPC Regulations, it has decided that there will be separate permits for the ETS and for PPC until at least 2008. To avoid any interference between the two regimes, PPC permits will not contain any emission limit values for carbon dioxide where an ETS permit has been issued.

(DEFRA, 5 March 2004)

The definition of a number of PPC terms has been clarified in guidance produced by DEFRA. On the term 'installation', for which an example drawn from the A1 sector is already given, two additional examples are provided for Part A(2) and B Installations. The extent of an installation, together with the capacity of the activity carried out, will determine whether a particular installation falls in Part A(1), A(2) or B. Further clarification is also given on the meaning of 'capacity' under the PPC Regulations.

(DEFRA, 5 March 2004)

VOCs

The Solvent Emissions (England and Wales) Regulations 2004 (SI 2003 No 107), which came into force on 20 January 2004, will increase the number of installations required to comply with emission limit values for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Regulations further implement the EU Directive of the Limitation of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (1999/13/EC) - the so-called Solvents Emission Directive. Many installations covered by the Directive are already regulated under PPC or IPC. The new Regulations will now bring solvent emissions from several thousand installations involved in surface cleaning, dry cleaning and vehicle refurbishing under control by bringing these smaller activities under Local Air Pollution Control (LAPC) Regime. Operators have two options for complying i.e. either by meeting VOC emission limits or by employing a mass reduction approach.

(SO, 19 January 2004)

The requirements of the Solvent Emissions (England and Wales) Regulations 2004 have been outlined in a guidance document produced by DEFRA. It provides details of the two compliance options as well as clarification of the timescales of the various requirements under the Regulations. The guidance also contains a note on the legal explanation of the Regulations, which is intended for local authorities with regulatory responsibilities and for affected installations. Further guidance from DEFRA is expected to be issued in the first half of 2004.

(DEFRA, 11 February 2004)

Air quality

Provisional figures for air quality during 2003 have been made available by DEFRA. Although there were more than twice as many days of higher air pollution in 2003 compared with 2002 due to the high ozone levels during the summer heat wave, the average number of days of poor urban air quality in 2003 was still around 18% lower than in 1993. In addition, urban pollution from particulates and sulphur dioxide was greatly reduced in 2003 compared with 1993.

(DEFRA News Release, 15 January 2004)

European Union

Transport emissions

The European Commission has released its fourth annual report on carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. It says that emissions of greenhouse gases from new passenger cars sold in the EU decreased by 10.8% between 1995 and 2002. Passenger cars are a significant source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accounting for over 10% of the total within the EU. The European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has signed up to a voluntary agreement with the Commission to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from passenger cars by 35% between 1995 and 2010. The latest figures mean that ACEA are on schedule to meet this target. Japanese car manufacturers have also made good progress towards meeting targets, although the Commission has expressed concerns over progress by Korean car manufacturers, currently behind their set targets. The three associations constitute around 99% of the EU car market, and all have an emission target of 140g/km as an average for new cars sold.

(European Commission Press Release, 12 February 2004)

Green members of the European Parliament have issued a statement demanding that the European Commission take action on reducing car emissions. It says that motor vehicle pollution, particularly with the rapidly growing number of diesel engines on the road, are causing serious health problems throughout Europe. It highlights particles as being a cause of a range of respiratory illness and of cardiovascular diseases. The Commission is due to propose new emission standards under EURO-5 emission. The Green MEPs say that particulate emissions for new cars must be reduced by 90% of those prescribed for 2005, saying that the technical solutions are already available. A letter to the Commission also called for widespread reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from transport and called on it to abandon its current voluntary agreement with car manufacturers and replace it with mandatory emission limits.

(The Greens/European Free Alliance, February 2004)

A Directive regarding the measurement of carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of N1 vehicles (2004/3/EC) has been published in the Official Journal. It relates to fuel consumption of light commercial vehicles (N1) and amends two other Directives (70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC) by introducing mandatory harmonised EU requirements for calculating carbon dioxide production and fuel consumption by measuring exhaust emissions. New type-approvals will not be granted after January 2005 where these values have not been determined. Any certificates of conformity accompanying a new vehicle would be considered invalid and the vehicle would be refused registration, sale or entry into service. The measure is designed to reduce emissions into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases.

(OJL 49, 19 February 2004)

Greenhouse gases

Decision No 280/2004/EC concerning guidelines for monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme has come into force after its publication in the Official Journal. The mandatory guidelines set out in the Decision lay down detailed instructions for monitoring and reporting for activities contained in Annex 1 of the Emissions Trading Directive (2003/87/EC). They also set out carbon dioxide emission factors to enable emissions to be calculated from the amount of fuel used in place of using actual emissions measurements. All emissions from regular operations, including start up and shut down and emergency situations, must be reported, although emissions from internal combustion engines for transportation can be excluded. The publication of this Decision means that all provisions of the Kyoto protocol are now transcribed in EU legislation.

(OJL 49, 19 February 2004)

PPC

The European Commission has issued a request for information from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on how they intend to implement the IPPC Directive (96/61/EC). The information should have been supplied by 30 September 2003. The Commission says that without the reports it cannot assess overall progress in the transposition and implementation of the Directive. Designed to cover a large number of industrial activities with the potential for significant pollution, the Directive sets out restrictions on the emission of pollutants to air, water and land. It also covers the generation of waste, energy use, accident prevention and the cleaning up of the site on closure of an installation. The letters sent to the countries are letters of formal notice which is the first stage of the infringement procedure.

(European Commission Press Release, 6 January 2004)

International

Climate change

A study published in the journal Nature has concluded that human-induced climate change could result in the extinction of more than a million terrestrial species within the next 50 years. The study, which involved investigations in six regions around the world, estimated that between 15% and 37% of terrestrial species could be extinct by 2050. It is the most comprehensive study of the effect of climate change on biodiversity and corroborates other studies. The report also goes on to say that greater uptake of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and for carbon sequestration could save 15%-20% of these species from extinction.

(Nature, 8 January 2004)

The United Nations World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has reported that 2003 is likely to be the third warmest of the last 150 years. Provisional figures show that for the Northern hemisphere global surface temperature for 2003 is expected to be 0.57°C above the 1961-1990 annual average. In a largely pessimistic report, it also noted that the rate of change since 1976 was around three times that compared with the past 100 years and that the pattern of increasing temperatures in the late 20th century was unprecedented in the last 1,000 years. In turn, artic sea ice dropped nearly as low as the record set in 2002.

(WMO, December 2003)

Ozone depleting substances

Eleven developed countries have been granted an exemption to a ban on methyl bromide, an ozone depleting pesticide, for 2005. Under the Montreal Protocol, the use of the substance was due to have been phased out in developed countries by 1 January 2005. Developing countries have until 2015 for a total phase out. The extension to the deadline for these developed countries was granted after it was accepted that it would take some time to develop cost-effective alternatives. The 11 countries are Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the US. However, these countries will have to reduce consumption by 20% below what they originally requested in 2003. The US is currently the largest user of the pesticide, followed by Italy. It is unclear what will happen after 2005.

(UNEP News Centre, 26 March 2004)