NO 2 exceedances , projections , measures – conclusions from „time extension “

Korea Environment Corporation, 30.6.20111

NO2 exceedances, projections, measures – conclusions from „time extension“

Conclusions from the notifications for „time extension“ (AQD Art. 22) for NO2

The notifications represent a sub-set of NO2 exceedances in

Europe.

Advantage:

The notifications provide combined information about NO2 levels in 2010

Exceedance areas Projections for 2015 Reasons for non-compliance in 2010 Measures to achieve compliance by 2015 2

Data used for this overview

Information provided by the notification is quite heterogeneous.

Some MSs (DE, IT, UK) submitted notifications for all exceedances (even if non-compliance is projected for 2015)

Quantitative information for 2015 not available for all MSs (e.g. FR, NL)

Details on measures and AQ Plans differ largely

This overview uses information from AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, FI, IT, and UK.

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Example: ItalyNotifications submitted for all 44 exceedance situations.

A: Time Extension accepted 2015

B: Time Extension accepted 2013

C: Time Extension rejected. NO2 level in 2015 projected above 40µg/m³

D: Time extension rejected, compliance achieved in 2010

E: Time Extension rejected. Notification states compliance by 2015, but insufficient documentation of measures

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A; 19

B; 4

C; 16

D; 3E; 2

Source apportionment

The predominant source sector for all notified exceedances is (local) road traffic.

Industry and domestic heating in some cases contribute up to 20%.

Regional background contributes up to 25% (absolute levels 10 – 15 µg/m³).

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Exceedance areas (NO2 annual mean values >40µg/m³) - Methods

Exceedance areas are given in most cases as length of road in kilometres.

Exceedance areas are identified by Modelling (most reliable method) Assessment of emissions Street sections for with monitoring sites are considered

representative

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Exceedance areas

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Town Length

Paris 2120 km

Strasbourg 255 km

Lille 0.96 km

Berlin 59.7 km

Stuttgart 5 km

Hamburg 243 km

München 1.54 km

Köln 5 km

Helsinki 8 km

London 1283.4 km

Greater Manchester 260.5 km

Exceedance areas - Conclusions

The geographic distribution of NO2 exceedances and the different extent of exceedance areas reveal some weaknesses in NO2 assessment:

The monitoring networks strongly focus on large towns and therefore NO2 LV exceedances are reported mainly in large towns.

Small towns and the neighbourhood of rural motorways are insufficiently covered by NO2 monitoring networks.

Measurements started in recent years in Germany, especially in the Federal States Baden-Württemberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen und Thüringen observe numerous exceedances in small and medium towns (>6000 inh.).

NO2 LV exceedances are likely much more widespread than most monitoring networks suggest.

Modelling (in combination with measurement) is essential to identify the extent of exceedance areas.

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Reasons for non-compliance in 2010

A broad majority of notifications states as reasons for non-compliance in 2010:

Vehicle emission factors did not decrease as expected (the Commission was broadly blamed for the “failure” of the EURO 4/IV real-world emissions)

Increase in Diesel passenger cars caused increase of primary NO2 emissions

Increase in traffic volume Delay in the implementation of measures (mainly

construction of bypass roads and public transport facilities)

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Compliance gaps 2010 – 2015 (annual mean)

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MS Max. NO2 (2010) for which compliance is reasonable in 2015

Min. NO2 (2010) for which compliance is not projected in 2015

AT 48 µg/m³ 51 µg/m³

BE 44 µg/m³ 54 µg/m³

BG 54 µg/m³

CZ 52 µg/m³ 48 µg/m³

FI 53 µg/m³

DE 52 µg/m³ 45 µg/m³

IT 49 µg/m³ 47 µg/m³

UK 66 µg/m³(82 µg/m³ „with additional

measures“)

55 µg/m³

Change in NO2 levels 2005 – 2010 – 2015

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MS Compliance projected in 2015

Non-compliance projected in 2015

2005-2010 2010-2015 2005-2010 2010-2015

AT -0.6 -1.3 -0.1 -1.8

BE -0.5 -1.2 -0.8 -1.3

DE -1.0 -1.8 -0.6 -2.1

Annual change in µg/m³2005 – 2010 observed2010 – 2015 projected

Measures to achieve compliance by 2015

In most exceedance situations, a combination of different measures is applied to reduce NOx emissions from road traffic:

Low emission zone Improvement of public transport Relocation of road traffic to new road tunnels, new motorway

junctions or bypass roads Promotion of cycling Management of traffic flow and parking facilities in city centres Low emission vehicles for public transport Speed limit Less congestion and stop&go

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Most effective measures

The most effective measures – which reduce NO2 levels by more than

10% each - are Low emission zones (LEZ), which ban old vehicles with high

emission factors from city centres – to be later extended to “newer” vehicles (frequently implemented in DE, less strict in IT, quite rare in other MSs)

Relocation of traffic to new roads – it should be kept in mind that this kind of measure likely increases the total traffic volume and the total urban NOx emissions)

EURO vehicle emission standards are considered a key element to achieve compliance by 2015

The re-location of a monitoring site can be a very effective “measure”, but is not accepted by the Commission in the TX 13

Delay of implementation of measures

Delay of implementation frequently affects infrastructure measures – new underground or railway tracks, new roads, tunnels, or motorway junctions – due to Planning difficulties Budgetary difficulties Objections by environmental initiatives against new roads in

their neighbourhood

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Possible measures which are not considered

Measures suitable to reduce traffic volume (and NOx emissions) which are almost not considered are: Road charge (inner-city charge, congestion charge) – despite

some quite “successful” implementations (Stockholm, Oslo, London)

Spatial planning targeted at compact settlement structures, avoiding long distances to shopping centres and work places.

A decrease of the total road traffic volume is not considered at all.

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Korea Environment Corporation, 30.6.201116

Contact & Information

Wolfgang Spangl

Tel. Nr.: +43 (0)1-31304/5861

E-Mail: [email protected]

Umweltbundesamtwww.umweltbundesamt.at

EEA EIONET WorkshopMadrid■ 26.10.2012