The revised regulations are intended to reduce emissions from large industrial plants and from pig and poultry farms, the European Commission announced. EU member states now have two years to adapt their national laws to the directive.
The Brussels authority expects that the law will reduce emissions of pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by up to 40 percent by 2050. Businesses such as particularly large pig and poultry farms have already been affected by the regulations – but according to the Commission, the current rules will be expanded.
Metal mining operations and battery manufacturing plants are also subject to the new rules. However, the requirements do not apply immediately. Industrial companies have four years from 2028 to use the latest available technologies, the EU Commission announced. The rules will apply to farmers from 2030, it said.
In the worst case, violations can be punished with fines of at least three percent of annual turnover, the Commission announced. The competent authorities will also be given more powers to temporarily take plants that do not comply with the regulations offline.
The Commission had originally advocated stricter rules because electricity generation, waste incineration and intensive livestock farming are responsible for harmful substances in the air, water and soil. Environmental pollution caused by pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, mercury and other heavy metals can cause diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and cancer.
The authority therefore presented a draft law in April 2022, which was adapted in negotiations with Parliament and EU states. Originally, significantly more agricultural businesses were to be regulated by the directive because, according to the Commission, they are responsible for a lot of ammonia and methane emissions. This went too far, especially for Parliament. Cattle farming will continue to be exempt from the rules.
