Latest news with #IED2.0
Euronews
30-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Coal or cool? Poland's energy sector in industrial transition mode
Poland is home to some of the highest-emitting industrial facilities in the European Union, such as the famous Belchatow power plant, which can produce up to 20% of Poland's electricity needs by burning lignite coal. At the turn of the last few decades, when Poland joined the European Union, various comprehensive modernisation plans were implemented at Belchatow. 'Since the early 1990s, the plant has reduced sulphur dioxide emissions by more than 93%, nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 66% and eliminated 99% of dust emissions,' Rafał Smejda, Director General of PGE GiEK SA Belchatow Power Plant told Euronews. The work involved building a new combustion unit, closing or replacing old boilers, renovating the electrical filters and installing desulphurisation systems. These changes were imperative for the plant to retain its permit. The competent authorities in the 27 Member States must ensure compliance with the standards of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), the EU's main tool for reducing pollution from large installations. Turning your back on coal Despite these technical improvements, the Belchatow power station is due to close gradually over the next few years as part of Poland's ongoing energy transition. Poland is reducing its dependence on coal, a particularly polluting fuel. Some power plants are already abandoning coal, such as the Zeran plant in Warsaw, whose new unit is fuelled by gas. 'In this transitional period, we still need to rely on combustion plants. Poland does not have a nuclear power plant yet. We are also not in a position to develop large-scale hydropower. We also cannot fully rely on energy import because Poland has one of the biggest district heating network in the EU', explains Marcin Wisniewski, from the Department of Environmental Instruments of the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment. Poland facing the IED 2.0 directive National data confirms the decline in the main industrial pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂), which can have serious effects on the environment and human health. The transposition of the first European IED Directive in 2016 has, according to the Polish government, led to a 40% reduction in SO₂ emissions in the country. 'We then had to implement the Best Available Techniques conclusions. And when you compare data from 2023 with data on emissions from 2016, so already those reduced, you can see for example that dust emission dropped by 80%.', Wisniewski adds. 'Now, we are working intensively to transpose IED 2.0 to the national legislation, because for sure it will bring further emission reduction', he says. The European Union has just revised its IED directive, with the aim of further reducing the levels of industrial pollutants in the air, water and soil, and accelerating the transition to a more innovative, clean and circular industry. According to Marcin Wisniewski, this means Polans 'will also have to work on increasing uptake innovation by the industry, by providing incentives for the operators to transform towards climate neutral and circular economy'. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution in 2021 have cost the equivalent of around 2% of the EU's GDP, or several hundred billion euros. Still according to the EEA, one percent of the most polluting industrial facilities in Europe - many of them coal power plants - caused half of these costs.
Euronews
30-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
From Seville to Warsaw: Industrial pollution has fallen in the EU, here's how
It is estimated that the 50,000 largest installations in the EU still account for around 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and are responsible for 20% of all air and water pollutants. These pollutants have a significant impact on human health and the environment: Fine particles (PM2.5) can enter our lungs and bloodstream, causing illness and death. NOx threatens human life and biodiversity. SOx, heavy metals and ammonia are harmful to crops, wildlife and humans. Greenhouse gases cause climate change and reduce air quality. A sharp fall in emissions Pollution caused by industrial emissions accounts for billions of euros in costs and hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in the EU every year. However, according to the European Environment Agency, environmental and health costs of European industry have decreased by a third from 2012 to 2021. The EEA says the EU energy sector has accounted for about 80% of the total decrease. According to the same study, this is mainly due to the adoption of new techniques and the shift to renewables and less polluting fuels, both changes being largely as a result of EU action. View Gallery 10 Photos New European rules The European Union recently revised its Industrial Emissions Directive (IED 2.0), its main tool for taking action on pollution coming from the continent's largest factories and farms. Under this directive, installations have been required to comply with the environmental performance associated with the best available techniques (BAT) in their sector. A growing number of governments in the world are now seeking to adopt the same approach. These performances are decided during the 'Sevilla process', a collaborative governance model involving industry, EU Member States and civil society, which takes place at the Joint European Research Centre (JRC) in Seville. Currently, around 80% of industrial sites comply with the highest permitted emission limit values. Under the IED 2.0 directive, the competent authorities in the Member States will be required to use more stringent values when revising or establishing permits. Best Available Techniques are set to also take into account more explicitly the human health and climate protection of installations. Decarbonisation efforts The new rules aim to achieve a further 40% reduction in the main atmospheric pollutants by 2050. One aim is to confirm the trend observed in recent decades: EU industry has grown while reducing its impact on the environment, a process known as 'decoupling'. Another important aspect of the revised directive is to support innovation and guide investment to boost Europe's green competitiveness on the basis of the Clean Industrial Deal recently presented by the European Commission. In Seville, a new Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions (INCITE) has been set up to identify and characterise the most promising technologies for achieving circular economy and carbon neutrality. The European Union's objectives are to reach carbon neutrality and zero pollution by 2050. A new portal makes it possible to track changes in the levels of various pollutants in the different regions of Europe. The European Environment Agency considers that the EU has completed or advanced the implementation of the 33 actions announced in the 2021 'zero pollution' action plan, but that further efforts are still needed to achieve the objectives.
