About: air quality Archives
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Brussels air pollution to trigger free public transport
Brussels’ regional government has approved emergency rules that will allow commuters to use public transport free of charge during periods of high air pollution, Belgian media reported on Friday (23 February).
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Polish mayor: ‘The future belongs to cities’
The city of Wrocław is one of Poland’s success stories, where job creation has hit record highs and environmental objectives are taken seriously. Wrocław’s long-serving mayor revealed his city’s future-leaning path and the advantages of being part of a Europe-wide network of mayors.
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German carmakers on tenterhooks ahead of diesel ban ruling
A court will decide on Thursday (22 February) whether German cities can ban heavily polluting cars, potentially wiping hundreds of millions of euros off the value of diesel cars on the country’s roads.
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Berlin downplays smog-beating free transport idea
The German government on Wednesday (14 February) sought to play down plans to introduce free public transport, a day after the radical proposal to fight air pollution made headlines around the world.
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Germany mulls free public transport to quash air pollution menace
"Car nation" Germany has surprised its European neighbours with a radical proposal to reduce road traffic by making public transport free, as Berlin scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines.
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Air pollution legal action decision due in mid-March
The European Commission will decide next month whether to launch legal cases against nine member states that are accused of breaking air pollution action, after additional information was submitted at the eleventh hour.
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CAP reform – what about air quality?
The third cause of death in France, air quality is particularly affected by agricultural activity. But it's an issue that is barely touched upon in the talks on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). EURACTIV.fr reports
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Bulgarians denied a say on air pollution
While Bulgaria hosted a forum on Eco-innovation for air quality this week, its citizens are denied the right to clean air. Bulgaria has some of the dirtiest in Europe, yet its citizens are not allowed to go to court and claim their right to clean air, warns Ugo Taddei.
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Leaky drinking water rules tightened by EU
The European Commission revealed on Thursday (1 February) how it plans to update drinking water rules, with the goal of improving human health, reducing emissions and tackling plastic waste high on the list of priorities.
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VW suspends chief lobbyist over emission tests on monkeys
Germany's scandal-hit auto giant Volkswagen on Tuesday (30 January) suspended its chief lobbyist Thomas Steg as outrage mounted over monkey and human experiments to study the effects of diesel exhaust fumes.
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EU’s air pollution pariahs summoned to Brussels
Environment ministers from some of the EU’s worst air pollution offenders have been summoned to Brussels for an end-of-month meeting with the European Commission, where they will have to answer some tough questions.
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Azerbaijan ready to invest in Bulgaria’s gasification
Azerbaijan, via its state energy company SOCAR, is ready to engage in Bulgaria’s gasification at its own expense. The statement was made by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of a visit by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov to the central Asian country.
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Bulgaria joins Poland in court case against Commission-led crackdown on coal
Bulgaria will join Poland in an appeal against a European Commission decision to impose stricter limits on toxic pollutants coal-fired plants emit, the government said on Wednesday (10 January).
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Our own homes are making us sick: Energy efficiency is part of the cure
Given that we spend 90% of our time indoors, the quality of our homes, schools and workplaces is a critical public health issue. Growing evidence shows that the efficiency and design of our buildings is an even bigger public health issue than previously thought, warns Mikaela Odemyr.
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EU auditors to assess anti-pollution efforts by testing Brussels air
The European Court of Auditors is to embark on a comprehensive review of the European Union’s efforts to curb air pollution, the main environmental cause of premature deaths in the EU.
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John Cooper: On fossil fuels, the European public is ‘a little bit misled’
A lot is at stake for the energy security of Europe if political correctness was to dictate imposing one technology against the other, John Cooper, Director General of FuelsEurope told EURACTIV.com.
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Air pollution almost as bad for babies as smoking during pregnancy
Dirty air can lead to women giving birth to smaller babies, according to new research which also warns that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy rivals the damage done by smoking.
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UK government adviser warns electric cars are not total air pollution solution
Cars must be driven out of cities to tackle the UK’s air pollution crisis, not just replaced with electric vehicles, according to the UK government’s top adviser. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
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UK roads could be covered with ‘tunnels’ to fight air pollution
Major roads in the United Kingdom could be turned into tunnels covered with pollution-absorbing material in an effort to cut emission fumes and improve air quality. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
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German environment minister: Better transport can keep people in rural areas
German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks called for a fundamental change in policy in order to promote emissions-free mobility. In interview with EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel she also warned about competition from China.
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Fossil fuel subsidies racking up trillions in health costs
Health costs related to fossil fuel use outweigh taxpayer-funded subsidies by 600%, according to a new study that insists governments should stop pumping money into dirty energy sources.
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UK to reward green consumers, ban dirty vehicles
British consumers could enjoy savings worth billions of pounds as a result of major changes to electricity generation, usage and storage, under new plans by the UK government. Westminster also intends to ban sales of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040.
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India wants every car to be electric by 2030
India is hoping to become the first big world power where all cars on its roads are electric, as part of its efforts to combat severe atmospheric pollution. 1.8 million deaths are caused by it every year on the subcontinent. EURACTIV’s partner Italia Oggi reports.
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Daily emissions of cruise ships same as one million cars
Cruise ships can emit as much particulate matter as a million cars every day and the air quality on deck can be as bad as the world’s most polluted cities, according to a new investigation.