Asian emissions increase ozone over North America Increases in tropospheric ozone levels above western North America during springtime are due to eastward air flows across the Pacific Ocean, with the largest increases associated with air that comes from South and East Asia, according to a recent study. Read more
Air quality benefits from climate policy Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will help to avert dangerous climate change, but it will also bring other benefits, such as cuts in health-damaging air pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. Read more
Rapid action to abate methane needed Rapid reductions in emissions of methane and other short-lived greenhouse gases are needed to slow down global warming, especially in the Arctic region. Read more
Ozone pollution could kill millions Ozone pollution could cause hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage to human health and result in millions of premature deaths around the world by 2050. Read more
Solar power from Sahara for fossil-free Europe Solar electricity from the Sahara could supply Europe with 15 per cent of its electricity by 2050, at a price tag of 400 billion euros. Read more
Supergrid paves the way for wind power expansion A supergrid connecting Scandinavia and large parts of western Europe may pave the way for an even faster expansion of off-shore windpower. Read more
IMO urged to take action on black carbon emissions Three countries – Norway, Sweden and the United States – are asking the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take action to reduce shipping emissions of black carbon (BC). Read more
Copenhagen failure on aviation and shipping The outcome of the Copenhagen summit proved extremely disappointing as regards international aviation and shipping emissions. Read more
Greenhouse gas reductions will benefit human health Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will have major direct health benefits, especially in low-income countries. Read more
New air quality standards in India For the first time in 15 years India has revised its air quality standards. The new standards were notified by the environment ministry in November, and have lowered maximum limits for health damaging pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM10, and introduced new limits for pollutants left out earlier, including ozone, PM2.5, arsenic, nickel, benzene and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (as benzo(a)pyrene). Read more
Great health benefits from new US air quality standards New air quality standards announced by the EPA are estimated to yield health benefits in the USA of between 13 and 100 billion dollars. Read more
Parliament debate on IPPC revision The second reading debate on the proposed revision of the industrial pollution directive (IPPC) is about to take place. Read more
New EU sulphur regulations in ports From 1 January 2010, ships using ports within the EU are not allowed to use marine fuels with a sulphur content exceeding 0.1% while at berth. Moreover, marine gas oils with a sulphur content higher than 0.1% are not allowed to be marketed in any EU member state. Read more
Review of the VOC paints directive underway An EU consultancy report published in December recommends extending the 2004 directive on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paints and varnishes to other products such as hairsprays, solvent-based adhesives, window cleaning products and wood coatings. Read more
Tough stance on air quality derogations European Commission objects to vast majority of requests for more time to comply with EU air quality legislation. Read more
Air pollution abatement - success and failures The convention on long range air pollution has helped to clear the skies over Europe and North America over the last three decades - but a few countries are still notorious in failing to fulfil their committments. Read more
Renewable energy can power the world by 2030 Renewable energy sources could produce all the energy the world needs in as little as 20 years from now and at a lower cost than the present energy mix, two American experts claim. Read more
Cutting NOx emissions - the Norwegian way Through an agreement between the Norwegian government and business organisations, a tax was transformed into a fund for investments - and emissions began to decrease rapidly. Read more
Editorial: Clear the air Everyone has the right to breathe clean air. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) released revised guidelines for four outdoor air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. For some pollutants, such as PM, no threshold value for harmful effects could be determined, and WHO therefore decided to set values, which if achieved, would be expected to result in significantly reduced rates of adverse health effects. Read more
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