Indicator Assessment

Emissions of primary PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter

Indicator Assessment

Prod-ID: IND-29-en

Also known as: CSI 003 , APE 009

Published 21 Dec 2011 Last modified 11 May 2021

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Topics: Environment and health Industry

This page was archived on 23 Feb 2018 with reason: No more updates will be done

Total emissions of primary PM₁₀ particulate matter have reduced by 27% across the EEA-32 region between 1990 and 2009, driven by a 34% reduction in emissions of the fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) fraction; emissions of particulates between 2.5 and 10 µm have risen slightly (10%) over the same period.
Of this reduction in PM₁₀ emissions, 37% has taken place in the 'Energy Production and Distribution' sector due reasons including the fuel-switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation and improvements in the performance of pollution abatement equipment installed at industrial facilities.

This indicator is discontinued. No more assessments will be produced.

Emissions of primary PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter (EEA member countries)

Note: This chart shows past emission trends of primary PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter, 1990-2009.

Data source:

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Percentage change in PM2.5 and PM10 emissions 1990-2009 (EEA member countries)

Note: The reported change in primary PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter for each country, 1990-2009.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution. Where emissions of primary PM10 were not reported by countries, emission estimates have been obtained from the RAINS PM10 model (IIASA).

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Emissions of primary particulate matter (PM₁₀) have reduced by 27% across the EEA-32 region between 1990 and 2009 (Figure 1), with significant reductions having occurred within most individual countries. The largest reductions have been reported by Estonia (-65%), Belgium (-60%) and Slovakia (-58%). In contrast emissions have increased in 7 countries since 1990; the greatest increases have been reported in Malta (112%), Finland (580%) and Romania (609%).

The reductions in total emissions of particulate matter between 1990 and 2009 have been mainly due to the introduction or improvement of abatement measures across the energy, road transport, and industry sectors coupled with other developments in industrial sectors such as fuel switching from high-sulphur containing fuels to low-sulphur fuels (which have also contributed to decreased formation of secondary particulate matter in the atmosphere). Emissions of primary PM₁₀ are expected to decrease in the future as vehicle technologies are further improved and stationary fuel combustion emissions are controlled through abatement or use of low sulphur fuels such as natural gas. Despite this, it is expected that within many of the urban areas across the EU, PM₁₀ concentrations will still be well above the EU air quality limit value. Substantial further reductions in emissions will therefore be needed if the limit value set in the EU's Air Quality Directive is to be reached.

There are no specific EU emission targets for primary PM₁₀. However the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) and the Gothenburg protocol to the UNECE LRTAP Convention both set ceilings (i.e. limits) for the secondary particulate matter precursors NH₃, NO_X and SO₂ that countries must meet by 2010 ^[1]. Further details concerning the overall progress toward the 2010 ceilings for these pollutants may be found in the indicator fact sheet CSI 001 Emissions of acidifying substances, with additional details concerning the individual secondary particulate matter precursor pollutants available in the following indicator fact sheets:

^[1] The NECD and Gothenburg protocol also set an emission ceiling for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) which contribute to ground-level ozone formation.

Sector contributions of emissions of primary particulate matter and secondary precursors (EEA member countries)

Note: The contribution made by different sectors to emissions of primary PM2.5 and PM10, and to emissions of the secondary particulate matter precursors.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution and the UNFCCC.

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Change in PM2.5 emissions for each sector and pollutant 1990-2009 (EEA member countries)

Note: Percentage change in primary PM2.5 particulate matter emissions for each sector and pollutant between 1990 and 2009.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data-providers-and-partners/unece-1

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Change in PM10 emissions for each sector and pollutant between 1990 and 2009 (EEA member countries)

Note: Percentage change in primary PM10 particulate matter emissions for each sector and pollutant between 1990 and 2009.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data-providers-and-partners/unece-1

Downloads and more info

Contribution to total change in PM2.5 emissions for each sector and pollutant between 1990 and 2009 (EEA member countries)

Note: The contribution made by each sector to the total change in primary PM2.5 particulate matter emissions between 1990 and 2009.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data-providers-and-partners/unece-1

Downloads and more info

Contribution to total change in PM10 emissions for each sector and pollutant between 1990 and 2009 (EEA member countries)

Note: The contribution made by each sector to the total change in primary PM10 particulate matter emission between 1990 and 2009.

Data source:

Data from 2011 officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to UNECE/EMEP Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data-providers-and-partners/unece-1

Downloads and more info

The most important sources of primary PM₁₀ emissions in 2009, across the EEA-32 region, were the 'Commercial, institutional and households' (38%), 'Industrial processes' (15%), 'Road transport' (14%) and 'Agriculture' (13%) sectors. The ‘Commercial, institutional and households’ sector includes combustion-related emissions from e.g. heating of residential and commercial properties.

Since 1990, emissions of primary PM₁₀ from most sectors have decreased (Figure 5), with the exception of the 'Other' and 'Agriculture' sectors, in which emissions have risen by (14%) and (6%) respectively.

Since 1990, emissions from the combustion-related sectors 'Energy production and distribution', 'Energy use in industry' and 'Road Transport' have in particular reduced significantly, contributing 37%, 18% and 16% respectively of the total reduction of particulate matter emissions (Figure 7). As described in the main assessment, a combination of factors has contributed to the reduction of both primary PM and secondary particulate matter emissions in these sectors between 1990 and 2009. These include for primary PM:

improvements in the performance of particulate abatement equipment at industrial combustion facililties, e.g. coal-fired power stations;
since the early 1990s, a fuel shift from the use of coal in the energy industries, industry and domestic sectors to cleaner burning fuels such as gas;
cleaner stoves for domestic heating;
introduction of particle filters on new vehicles (driven by the legislative 'Euro' standards);

and for the secondary particulate matter precursors:

fuel switching from high-sulphur solid (e.g. coal) and liquid (e.g. heavy fuel oil) fuels to low sulphur fuels (such as natural gas) for power and heat production purposes within the 'energy industries', industry and domestic sectors;
the impact of European Union directives relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels;
the introduction of flue-gas abatement techniques (e.g. flue gas desulphurisation, NO_X scrubbers and selective (SCR) and selective non-catalytic (SNCR) reduction) and introduction of combustion modification technologies (such as use of low NO_X burners);
the introduction of three way catalytic converters for petrol-fuelled cars (driven by the legislative 'Euro' standards);
the introduction of exhaust particle traps for diesel HGVs to meet emission standards EURO V.

Supporting information

Indicator definition

This indicator tracks trends since 1990 in anthropogenic emissions of primary particulate matter less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) and 10 µm (PM₁₀) respectively, and secondary particulate matter precursors (nitrogen oxides (NO_X), ammonia (NH₃), and sulphur dioxide (SO₂)).
The indicator also provides information on emissions by sectors: Energy production and distribution; Energy use in industry; Industrial processes; Road transport; Non-road transport; Commercial, institutional and households; Solvent and product use; Agriculture; Waste; Other.
Geographical coverage: EEA-32. The EEA-32 country grouping includes countries of the EU-27 (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) EFTA-4 (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway) and Turkey.
Temporal coverage: 1990-2010.

Units

ktonnes (1000 tonnes)

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

In recent years scientific evidence has been strengthened by many epidemiological studies that indicate there is an association between long and short-term exposure to fine particulate matter and various serious health impacts. Fine particles have adverse effects on human health and can be responsible for and/or contribute to a number of respiratory problems. Fine particles in this context refer to primary particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and emissions of secondary particulate matter precursors (NO_X, SO₂ and NH₃). Primary PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ refers to fine particles (defined as having diameter of 2.5 µm or 10 µm or less, respectively) emitted directly to the atmosphere. Secondary particulate matter precursors are pollutants that are partly transformed into particles by photo-chemical reactions in the atmosphere. A large fraction of the urban population is exposed to levels of fine particulate matter in excess of limit values set for the protection of human health. There have been a number of recent policy initiatives that aim to control particulate concentrations and thus protect human health.

Detailed information on emissions of the secondary particulate matter precursors may also be found in the accompanying indicator fact-sheets for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ammonia.

Scientific references

No rationale references available

Policy context and targets

Context description

There are no specific EU emission targets set for primary particulate matter, as with respect to PM emissions, measures are currently focused on controlling emissions of the secondary PM precursors. However, there are several Directives that affect the emissions of primary PM, including the 2008 Air Quality Directive and emission standards for specific mobile and stationary sources for primary PM₁₀ and secondary precursor emissions.

Within the European Union, the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NEC Directive) imposes emission ceilings (or limits) for emissions of the particulate matter precursors pollutants nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and ammonia that harm human health and the environment (the NEC Directive also sets emissions ceilings for a fourth pollutant - non-methane volatile organic compounds).

Other key EU legislation is targeted at reducing emissions of air pollutants from specific sources, for example:

transport;
industrial facilities and other stationary sources.

Internationally, the issue of air pollution emissions is also being addressed by the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (the LRTAP Convention) and its protocols. A key objective of the protocol is to regulate emissions on a regional basis within Europe and to protect eco-systems from transboundary pollution by setting emission reduction ceilings to be reached by 2010 for the same four pollutants as addressed in the NECD (i.e. SO₂, NO_X, NH₃ and NMVOCs). Overall for the EU Member States, the ceilings set within the Gothenburg protocol are generally either slightly less strict or the same as the emission ceilings specified in the NECD.

Targets

There are presently no European national ceilings for emissions of particulate matter.

Emissions of the secondary PM precursors SO₂, NO_X and NH₃ are covered by the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) (2001/81/EC) and the Gothenburg protocol under the United Nations Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) (UNECE 1999). The NECD generally involves slightly stricter emission reduction targets than the Gothenburg Protocol for EU-15 Member States for 2010.

Table: 2010 Targets under the NEC Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol, in kt

	2010 NECD ceilings			2010 CLRTAP Gothenburg Protocol ceilings
	NO_X	SO_X	NH₃	NO_X	SO_X	NH₃
Austria	103	39	66	107	39	66
Belgium	176	99	74	181	106	74
Bulgaria	247	836	108	266	856	108
Cyprus	23	39	9
Czech Republic	286	265	80	286	283	101
Denmark	127	55	69	127	55	69
Estonia	60	100	29
Finland	170	110	31	170	116	31
France	810	375	780	860	400	780
Germany	1051	520	550	1081	550	550
Greece	344	523	73	344	546	73
Hungary	198	500	90	198	550	90
Iceland^*
Ireland	65	42	116	65	42	116
Italy	990	475	419	1000	500	419
Latvia	61	101	44	84	107	44
Liechtenstein				0.37	0.11	0.15
Lithuania	110	145	84	110	145	84
Luxembourg	11	4	7	11	4	7
Malta	8	9	3
Netherlands	260	50	128	266	50	128
Norway				156	22	23
Poland	879	1397	468	879	1397	468
Portugal	250	160	90	260	170	108
Romania	437	918	210	437	918	210
Slovakia	130	110	39	130	110	39
Slovenia	45	27	20	45	27	20
Spain	847	746	353	847	774	353
Switzerland				79	26	63
Sweden	148	67	57	148	67	57
Turkey^*
United Kingdom	1167	585	297	1181	625	297

^* Iceland and Turkey do not have a ceiling under either the NEC Directive or the Gothenburg protocol.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

This indicator is based on officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to EEA and UNECE/EMEP (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/Co-operative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention), submission 2011. For the EU-27 Member States, the data used is consistent with the emissions data reported by the EU in its annual submission to the LRTAP Convention.

Recommended methodologies for emission inventory estimation are compiled in the EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook, (EMEP/EEA, 2013). Base data are available from the EEA Data Service (http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservice/metadetails.asp?id=1096) and the EMEP web site (http://www.ceip.at/). Where necessary, gaps in reported data are filled by ETC/ACC using simple interpolation techniques (see below). The final gap-filled data used in this indicator are available from the EEA Data Service (http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/PivotApp/pivot.aspx?pivotid=478).

Base data, reported in the UNECE/EMEP Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector format are aggregated into the following EEA sector codes to obtain a consistent reporting format across all countries and pollutants:

Energy production and distribution: emissions from public heat and electricity generation, oil refining, production of solid fuels, extraction and distribution of solid fossil fuels and geothermal energy;
Energy use in industry: emissions from combustion processes used in the manufacturing industry including boilers, gas turbines and stationary engines;
Industrial processes: emissions derived from non-combustion related processes such as the production of minerals, chemicals and metal production;
Road transport: light and heavy duty vehicles, passenger cars and motorcycles;
Non-road transport: railways, domestic shipping, certain aircraft movements, and non-road mobile machinery used in agriculture & forestry;
Commercial, institutional and households: emissions principally occurring from fuel combustion in the services and household sectors;
Solvent and product use: non-combustion related emissions mainly in the services and households sectors including activities such as paint application, dry-cleaning and other use of solvents;
Agriculture: manure management, fertiliser application, field-burning of agricultural wastes
Waste: incineration, waste-water management;
Other: emissions included in national total for entire territory not allocated to any other sector

The following table shows the conversion of Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector codes used for reporting by countries into EEA sector codes:

EEA classification	Non-GHGs (NFR)
National totals	National total
Energy production and distribution	1A1, 1A3e, 1B
Energy use in industry	1A2
Road transport	1A3b
Non-road transport (non-road mobile machinery)	1A3 (exl 1A3b)
Industrial processes	2
Solvent and product use	3
Agriculture	4
Waste	6
Commercial, institutional and households	1A4ai, 1A4aii, 1A4bi, 1A4bii, 1A4ci, 1A4cii, 1A5a, 1A5b
Other	7

Methodology for gap filling

An improved gap-filling methodology was implemented in 2010 that enables a complete time series trend for the main air pollutants (eg NO_X, SO_X, NMVOC, NH₃ and CO) to be compiled. In cases where countries did not report emissions for any year, it meant that gap-filling could not be applied. For these pollutants, therefore, the aggregated data are not yet complete and are likely to underestimate true emissions. Further methodological details of the gap-filling procedure are provided in section 1.4.2 Data gaps and gap-filling of the European Union emission inventory report 1990–2009 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP).

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

The use of gap-filling for when countries have not reported emissions for one of more years can potentially lead to artificial trends, but it is considered unavoidable if a comprehensive and comparable set of emissions data for European countries is required for policy analysis purposes.

Data sets uncertainty

Primary PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ data is of relatively higher uncertainty compared to emission estimates for the secondary PM precursors. The contribution of secondary particulate matter precursor emissions to PM formation varies considerably across different emission sources and geographical region (meteorology etc).

Overall scoring: (1-3, 1=no major problems, 3=major reservations)

Relevancy: 1
Accuracy: 2
Comparability over time: 2
Comparability over space: 2

Rationale uncertainty

This indicator is regularly updated by EEA and is used in state of the environment assessments. The uncertainties related to methodology and data sets are therefore of importance.

Data sources

National emissions reported to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention)
provided by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Other info

DPSIR: Pressure
Typology: Performance indicator (Type B - Does it matter?)

Indicator codes

CSI 003
APE 009

Frequency of updates

This indicator is discontinued. No more assessments will be produced.

EEA Contact Info

Permalinks

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Older versions

25 Oct 2010 - Emissions of primary PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter

26 Jan 2010 - Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate matter precursors

19 Dec 2008 - Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate matter precursors

07 Mar 2008 - Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate matter precursors

22 Dec 2006 - Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate matter precursors

21 Oct 2005 - Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate matter precursors

06 Oct 2004 - EEA18 Emissions of primary particulates (PM10) and secondary particulate precursors

01 Jun 2001 - Emission of particulates, EU 15

Geographic coverage

Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom