Air pollution : national emission ceilings for pollutant gas (SO2, NOx, NH3, VOCs)

On 14 March 2001 the European Parliament adopted 9 amendments. 1 amendment has been accepted by the Commission in full, 2 have been accepted in part or in principle. The remaining amendments cannot be accepted. With regard to the amendments accepted by the Commission, these relate to: - emissions from shipping and emissions from aircraft. In general, emissions from international shipping are best tackled by action in the International Maritime Organisation and from aircraft by action within the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The amendments accepted in principle by the Commission concern: - the addition of a new recital noting the importance of emissions from shipping and referring to the requirements of article 7(3) of Directive 1999/32/EC of 26 April 1999 relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels; - bringing forward by the end of 2001 proposals for economic instruments designed to meet the objectives of the present proposal. The Commission will look at the scope for using economic instruments when it reviews the Directive in 2004 and 2008 in accordance with Article 9. The Commission can therefore accept this amendment in principle and in part by replacing Parliament's wording with "the possible use of economic instruments". As regards the amendments not accepted by the Commission, there relate to: - national emission ceilings; - reinstating in Annex I the emission ceilings originally proposed by the Commission for sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds; - the deletion of the word "broadly" from the chapeau of Article 5 in the Common Position; - the deletion of the requirement for the Commission to review the extent to which further emission reductions might be necessary to meet the interim environmental objectives set out in Article 5 of the proposal when it reports to Parliament and Council in 2004 and 2008. As explained above, both the emission ceilings of Council's Common Position and of the Common Position as amended by Parliament fall short of those needed to meet interim environmental objectives. The Commission cannot therefore accept the amendment; - setting dates for meeting the long term objectives of no exceedance of critical loads and levels for acidification and eutrophication and no exceedance of WHO guidelines for ozone. �