Press Release: Review confirms the need to reduce pollution from industrial installations

Emissions of certain industrial pollutants in the European Union are still increasing, according to a review published on 7 June 2007 by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency. The second European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) review confirms the previous year's preliminary assessment (IP/06/1618). This second report marks the first comprehensive report of emissions data for industrial pollutants in 25 EU Member States and Norway. The review reveals that about two-thirds of the 50 air and water industrial pollutants have been decreasing. These include nitrogen pollutants released into water bodies (-14.5%), the various types of phosphorus (-12%), and the emissions of dioxins/furans (-22.5%) into the atmosphere. An upward trend can be observed in emissions of certain pollutants, such as carbon dioxide which increased by 5.7% between 2001 and 2004. In 2004, key tools to control carbon dioxide emissions such as the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) were not yet in place.