Scottish Urban Air Quality Steering Group - Modelling & Monitoring Workshop - Aad Bezemer

10 december 2014

Netherlands policy for better Air Quality Air Quality Department Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment – The Netherlands

Start of the proces: problems with the EU limit values • EU directive air quality 1999: limit values for particulate

matter (PM10) in 2005 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2010 • The Netherlands stated these limit values as “very

problematic” • Since 2005 the daily mean concentration limit value for PM10

is exceeded and the annual mean concentration limit value for NO2 (2010) is problematic

Consequences are: • Bad situation for public health • Legal problems for much spatial developments (residential,

business areas, roads)

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How does Dutch law work?

• Spatial planning and environmental law closely related

• Projects are assessed by municipalities, provinces (for larger projects) or ministries (national projects like motorway construction) on environmental effects and must be in accordance to environmental legislation, i.e. noise, air quality

• Examples of projects: residential areas, industrial complexes, new or changed road infrastructure

• If a project is planned in an area where air quality standards will be exceeded after completion, the permit can be declined

How does Dutch law work -2

• Any citizen or group/NGO can file a claim stating infringement of rights

• If a claim is filed, courts will rule if the

authority (municipalities, provinces, national governments) has assessed the impact of the proposed project, also environmental (and thus health) impact, correctly and completely

4 10 december 2014 Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu

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Netherlands in ‘lock-down’

• Since 2005, the Council of State (Supreme Court for administrative procedures) has annulled many building permits on grounds associated with the air quality situation in the Netherlands

• This alarmed all authorities, building contractors, etc

Four track approach

1. European legislation – derogation 2. National legislation – approach through a programme 3. Development of National Air Quality Cooperation Programme

(NSL) 4. Development of measures

European legislation

• The EC started work in 2005 on a Framework Directive for air quality, time extensions were part of the directive

• NL already started thinking about an action plan which could also serve as request for derogation, during the last stages of negotiation about the 2008 directive

• EC was still working on the format for derogation when NL applied

• In the process leading up to the derogation, there was regular contact in person and phone with the EC: showing what we were doing

• At the end, NL obtained derogation for most parts of the country for PM10 and NO2


National legislation

• Implementation EU-directive • Legal basis for the NSL Programme and local regional plans • No separate assessment air quality for projects that are part

of the Programme • Obligation to report on the progress of national and local

programmes to parliament • Procedures for changing the NSL Programme


NSL: National Air Quality Cooperation Plan (1)

• Double objective: Comply with European standards

- Improving public health

Creating possibilities for (spatial) projects to be executed


NSL: National Air Quality Cooperation Plan (2) • National Government is leading • Provinces, municipalities and city regions share responsibility

for the problems and the solutions • Projects & Measures (national – regional – local) • Annual monitoring - still on track for attaining the limit

values? If not: more measures needed • Clean Air Policy Tool - performs an overall air quality

calculation for NL

Cooperation works - Political and public pressure -> At national as well as regional and local level! - NSL is (partly) based on Regional Air Quality programmes - Regular meetings with representatives of municipalities and provinces on policy and monitoring

- Over €1.5 billion made available for measures • National measures for lowering the background concentration • Local measures for solving local bottlenecks


• ST: foundation for NSL ánd derogation • ST calculated the effects of projects and measures for all of the Netherlands and the projected air quality balance between con’s and pro’s • Based on this model authorities have made air quality action plans, accorded by city councils, etc.

“Saneringstool” (ST)

Monitoringstool

• The Monitoringstool: improved version of ST • Shows prognoses of exceedances for 2011, 2015, 2020 • Street-level information on air quality • Updated yearly with the general background values and the local traffic information (delivered by local authorities) • The Monitoringstool can be used to calculate the effects of

new or changed projects • Everyone can see the results of the monitoring at www.nsl-

monitoring.nl


http://www.nsl-monitoring.nl/

http://www.nsl-monitoring.nl/

Example: Amsterdam centre, prognosis 2015


(Inter)national measures

Stimulation soot filters new cars Subsidize soot filters for existing cars Stimulate local clean traffic like busses Subsidize NOx catalytic converter inland shipping Fiscal greening: stimulating Euro 5 and 6 Subsidize different measures e.g. air scrubbers stock farms

(poultry) Stimulating Euro VI, Euro 6 (taxi, light duty)

Regional and local measures

Measures on highways

• Dynamic traffic management

• (Noise)barriers

• Tunnel measures

Regional and local measures Regional • Clean public transport • Bike infrastructure • Traffic management • Additional subsidies for cleaner cars or soot filters Local • Change in local infrastructure

(like crossroads) • Low Emission Zones • Parking policy • Cargo transport plan • ‘Green Waves’ • Etc…

Legal: jurisprudence

• The Council of State has consistently ruled that the effects for air quality of projects that are included in the NSL do not need to be researched seperately

• The Council of State has also ruled that the system of the NSL (with the possibility to change projects or measures and the obligation to report on the progress) offers enough possibilities to achieve the limit values

• The NSL is legitimate as a programme (accepted as a foundation for projects) until it is proven that it is not possible within reason – even with adjustment of the programme- to achieve the limit values that are included in the Environmental Act


Critical notes

• Are we going to make it? Some problems are very persistent. • Finding new measures is a challenge - ‘big’ measures often do not have enough political support • Changes in the the background concentrations lead to a

change in the hotspots • Role of national government: some policy is perceived by

citizens and politicians as counterproductive, example: raising maximum speed limit (even within AQ limits)


Conclusions – What made the NSL a success

• Public attention and political pressure

• A shared problem

• Budget available to take measures

• A harmonized system/rules for calculations