Environment

EU refers Bulgaria to court for high values of SO2 caused by coal-fired power plants

SO2

Photo: Pixabay

Published

July 31, 2019

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

July 31, 2019

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

The European Commission has decided to refer Bulgaria and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU over poor air quality. The reason in Bulgaria’s case is failing to respect the limit values of sulfur dioxide (SO2).

This decision is part of reinforced action by the European Commission (EC) to engage with EU Member States to protect citizens’ health from poor air quality, as set out in the Clean Air for All package of May 2018, the EC said in a press release.

In the case of Bulgaria, the latest sulfur dioxide (SO2) data presented show persisting non-compliance with the hourly and/or daily limit values for SO2 in the South-East zone, where the four largest thermal power plants (TPPs) in Bulgaria are located. Since 2005, EU rules set limit values for SO2 concentration in ambient air. These provisions are applicable to Bulgaria as of its accession to the EU from January 1, 2007.

This decision constitutes a second referral to the Court of Justice of the EU for Bulgaria’s failure to comply with EU air quality standards. In its judgment of April 5, 2017, the Court confirmed Bulgaria’s failure to comply with the limit values for PM10.

Bulgaria was also among half of the EU’s 28 member states, including Cyprus, Greece, Romania, and Slovenia, which failed to prepare their air pollution reduction plans by the April 1 deadline.

According to the press release, when limit values set by EU legislation on ambient air quality (Directive 2008/50/EC) are exceeded, as in the cases of Bulgaria and Spain, Member States have to adopt air quality plans and ensure that such plans set appropriate measures so that the exceedance period can be kept as short as possible.

Air pollution continues to be the number one environmental health problem in the EU, with estimates pointing to around 400,000 premature deaths attributable to air pollution per year.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

bih nova alumina waste energy

BiH’s Nova Alumina to install energy facility fueled by waste to replace coal

13 February 2025 - Aluminum and cement industry supplier Nova Alumina plans to build an energy facility that would use alternative fuels, to replace coal

energy community tnc mapping guide blueprint solar wind environment impact

Guide for mapping areas for solar, wind with minimized impact on environment in Energy Community

12 February 2025 - The secretariat and TNC released a guide for identifying priority areas for renewables that minimizes environmental and social conflicts

serbia ash cement eps coal Lafarge Elixir Group Moravacem

Serbia’s EPS, industry sign contracts on disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants

07 February 2025 - Power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije will sell 30 million tons of ash to Lafarge Serbia, Elixir Group and Moravacem

Floating solar power plants on small water bodies promote greenhouse gas emissions

Floating solar power plants on small water bodies add to greenhouse gas emissions

05 February 2025 - A new study shows that placing solar panels on small bodies of water increases greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 27 percent