New step by the European Union towards the ‘green’ transition. The European Council and the European Parliament agreed early on Wednesday to review the industrial emissions directive. Demand that member states include, for the most serious infringements, fines of at least 3% of the annual turnover of the European Union operator.
The document asks European countries to establish proportionate, effective and dissuasive sanctions for those who violate those adopted to implement the directive and that they must take into account the severity and duration of the violation, whether it was recurrent and the persons and the media. environment that it affected.
Guarantee the right to claim compensation
Furthermore, they must ensure that people have the right to claim compensation when damage to their health has occurred as a result of a violation of the national rules transposing the directive. The Pact, which must be formally endorsed by both institutions, aims to better protect human health and the environment by reducing new emissions from industrial facilities, including intensive livestock farms, air and water. and the soil already through waste discharges.
Concept of limit of environmental performance values
The co-legislators have introduced the concept of environmental performance limit values (EPLVs), which will be set by the competent authorities in the permit to authorize the establishment and operation of the facilities and whose ranges will be binding for all resources. energy, with the exception of water.
The provisional document adjusts certain agricultural thresholds for animal husbandry, which stand at 350 units for pigs; 280 for poultry -300 for laying hens- and 380 heads of livestock for mixed farms, while extensive farms and the breeding of animals for domestic use are excluded from the scope of the directive, as claimed by It’s like Spain.
About the different activities
The new rules will be applied progressively, starting in 2030 with the largest farms. It also includes mining activities in the scope of the directive, covering the extraction and processing of non-energy minerals produced on an industrial scale, such as iron, copper, gold, nickel and platinum. Subject to a review and legislative proposal from the Commission, the scope may also be extended to industrial minerals.
The co-legislators have set a date of 2028–and every five years thereafter–for the Commission to review the implementation of the directive, an assessment should take into account emerging techniques and the need for additional pollution prevention measures or requirements . of minimum emissions limits at European Union level. Looking ahead to 2026, the Community Executive must evaluate the best way to address the emissions generated by livestock farming and agricultural products sold on the European market.
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