The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Wednesday found that Hungary had “systematically and persistently” breached legal daily limits on air pollution and ordered the country to comply immediately or risk facing further legal action and financial penalties.
The case was first brought to the high court in 2018 by the European Commission, who accused Hungary of violating limits on concentrations of particulate matter, which comprises of dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and other particles in the air that are hazardous to humans and the environment. Air pollution is Europe’s number one environmental health risk, with more than 400,000 citizens dying prematurely in the EU each year as a result of poor air. In 2018, 379,000 premature deaths in the EU were attributed to fine particulate matter pollution. Of those, 13,100 were reported in Hungary.
The EU adopted new air pollution standards in 2018 as part of the Air Quality Directive, setting restrictions for particulate matter plus standards for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other pollutants such as lead and benzene. The court determined on Wednesday that Hungary had “failed to fulfil its obligations” under the directive, in some regions for as long as 12 years, and did not take the necessary steps to “ensure that the exceedance period was kept as short as possible.”
Though Hungary argued that the poor air quality within its borders was due to pollution coming in from its neighbours, the CJEU said that EU standards were set up taking such considerations in mind, noting that “the topographical and climatic features which are particularly unfavourable to the dispersion of possible pollutants in the zones in question are not such as to exempt Hungary from responsibility for exceeding the limit values for particulate matter.” The court also said that the plans adopted by the country to improve air quality were inadequate and lacking precision, as they did not require quick action by authorities to address the issue.
Hungary is not the only country to have come under fire for its poor air quality. Since 2011, other EU nations, like, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), France, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden have all breached their air pollution levels. In fact, a French court on Wednesday also ruled that the French leadership was at fault for not doing enough to combat global warming. The case was brought to the Administrative Tribunal of Paris by four NGOs, who accused the government of not living him to its own domestic and international climate change commitments.
Hungary Comes Under Fire for Breaching EU Air Pollution Limits
The Court of Justice of the European Union ordered the country to comply immediately or risk facing further legal action and financial penalties.
February 4, 2021
SOURCE: DAILY NEWS HUNGARY