2023-11-24 16:21:14
The State was again condemned, Friday November 24, for not having sufficiently fought against air pollution by the Council of State, which noted significant exceedances of certain standards in Paris and Lyon, but also noted improvements in other metropolises.
The Council of State thus condemns “the State to pay two fines of five million euros for the two semesters from July 2022 to July 2023, by halving the amount of the penalty imposed per semester”, in relation to previous convictions, indicates the highest administrative court. These sums will go to different organizations and institutions.
In October 2022, the Council of State had already ordered the State to pay a record penalty of 20 million euros, for its inability to reduce air pollution levels below regulatory thresholds on the the entire territory.
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Fine particles: 253,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 according to a report
And rapport of the European Environment Agency (EEA), also published on Friday, reports that fine particle air pollution caused the deaths of 253,000 people in the European Union in 2021. These deaths “are attributable to exposure to pollution by fine particles (PM2.5) greater than the concentration of 5 µg/m3 recommended by the WHO” (World Health Organization), indicates the EEA in its press release.
This figure is up compared to 2020 when fine particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs, caused the premature death of 238,000 people. An increase which is explained by increased exposure to pollutants and a slight increase in European mortality mainly due to Covid-19, according to the EEA.
The trend, however, remains largely positive over the longer term since between 2005 and 2021, the number of premature deaths due to fine particles decreased by 41%, underlines the study.
Despite the “great progress” carried out in recent years, “the impact of air pollution on our health still remains too high”, notes the executive director of the AEE, Leena Ylä-Mononen, quoted in the press release. Air pollution remains the most significant environmental threat to the health of Europeans, she emphasizes.
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