The costs to health and the environment from industrial air pollution in Europe

The economic costs associated with the negative impacts of air pollution caused by Europe’s industrial plants are substantial. The methods of estimating the damage or ‘external’ costs associated with industrial pollution’s impacts on human health, ecosystems, infrastructure and climate continue to evolve. This briefing presents the latest assessment of the trends in externalities of industrial air pollution caused by over 10,000 facilities during the last decade (2012-2021).

Key messages:

• Europe’s industry has made significant progress in reducing its environment and climate impacts. Over the last decade, external costs caused by air pollution from industry decreased by nearly 35%, although they rebounded somewhat after a drop in 2020 driven by lower economic activity in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Almost 80% of the decrease in total external costs during the last decade occurred in the energy sector (thermal plants generating electricity and heat). This has been driven by the successful implementation of best available techniques (BAT) in the sector and a shift to less polluting and carbon-intensive fuels driven by environmental and climate policies. Consequently, other industrial sectors have lower relative reductions in external costs and there may still be potential for further improving environmental performance.
• Just over 100 of approximately 10,000 facilities addressed in this study are responsible for 50% of the aggregate damage caused by their air emissions. In 2021, the top five Member States with facilities contributing the highest external costs were Germany, Poland, Italy, France, and Spain. When costs are compared to the GDP as an indicator of relative performance per unit of national economic output, the top five countries were Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Greece, and Cyprus.
• Over the last decade (2012-2021), the order of countries in both rankings has been stable, with a few exceptions. This means that throughout this period, while industrial emissions have been decreasing at European Union (EU) level, Member States’ relative contributions have been consistent, even when considering the damage/GDP ratio (in euros) mentioned above.
• The European Green Deal has promoted the transformation of Europe’s industry towards a more digital and green future. The Zero Pollution ambition and future policy plans to transform industry are an opportunity to further support this objective and continue decreasing the pollution impacts from the sector.