Polluters will be made to pay for pollution, EU says

Citizens of European Union countries could be able to sue polluters of air and water as part of class action lawsuits under regulations being drawn up by the 27-nation bloc.

The proposals aim to reduce air and water pollution to zero by 2050, and in the case of micro-pollutants in water, the rule of polluter pays would apply, with the EU estimating that 92 percent of them come from pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

"The longer we wait to reduce this pollution, the higher the costs to society," said the EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. "By 2050 we want our environment to be free of harmful pollutants. Our proposals to further reduce water and air pollution are a crucial piece of that puzzle."

Once the rules have been formally proposed they will have to be negotiated and approved by EU member states.

Under the proposals, existing EU legislation including the Ambient Air Quality Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive will be updated, with those who have suffered as a result of the flouting of regulations able to seek compensation.

The EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said this would be backed up by "easier procedures for local and regional authorities to go against and impose penalties against the polluters", and that with air pollution the aim is to get standards closer to those of the World Health Organization.

"People tell us that they want clean air to breathe," Sinkevicius said. "People living in cities, asthma sufferers and those living near industrial plants, they are all worried and they are asking us to act. The commission will lead the way with an ambitious proposal to strengthen EU air quality standards."

Fine particulate pollution caused nearly 1 million premature deaths in the 1990s, a figure that was more than halved by 2005, the European Environment Agency says. More recent data shows that number is now down to closer to 300,000, and if WHO guidelines were followed, that figure could be halved again.

But air quality campaigners say the decision not to match EU standards with those of the WHO is a missed opportunity.

Barbara Stoll, director of the Clean Cities Campaign, said "setting air pollution limits that are not aligned with the latest health science is like suggesting people keep smoking but stick to light cigarettes".

The law firm ClientEarth said financial penalties for polluters but not the enforcers of the rules were missing the point.