EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil

Position

EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil

BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

Federation of German Industries e.V.

Date: 01.06.2021

BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

Contents Introduction ..................................................................................... 3 1. General Evaluation ................................................................... 4 Zero-Pollution ambition unrealistic, risk-based approach required .................................................................................................... 4 Action plan not required, 8th EAP sets objectives....................... 4 Enable legal and planning certainty ............................................ 5 2. In Detail ...................................................................................... 6 1. Revision of the Water Framework Directive ............................ 6 2. Revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive is not required . 6 3. Revision of the Seveso III Directive is not required ................. 7 4. Revision of the European air quality directives are not required .................................................................................................... 7 5. Principle of subsidiarity stands against EU regulation of soil .. 7 6. Responsibility for the protection of biodiversity lies with the member states ............................................................................ 8 About BDI ......................................................................................... 9 Imprint .............................................................................................. 9

BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

Introduction The EU Action Plan "Towards a Zero Pollution Ambition for air, water and soil", published by the European Commission on 12 May 2021, aims to strengthen the European Union's green, digital and economic leadership while creating a healthier, more socially just Europe and a healthier planet.

The Action Plan is part of the European Green Deal and aims to create a compass for mainstreaming pollution prevention in all relevant EU policies, maximise synergies, accelerate implementation and identify possible gaps and trade-offs. The Action Plan aims to examine the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation and the monitoring of pollution prevention and control measures, and to drive societal change In the following, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) comments the present Action Plan.

Federation of German Industries Member Association of BUSINESSEUROPE

Address Breite Straße 29 10178 Berlin Postal Address 11053 Berlin Contact Simon Weimer T: +493020281589 F: +493020282589 E-Mail: S.Weimer@bdi.eu

Internet www.bdi.eu

BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

1. General Evaluation Zero-Pollution ambition unrealistic, risk-based approach required In the European Green Deal, it was announced that the EU would aim for a zero pollution target to protect the health of EU citizens and to prevent and eliminate pollution from emissions into the air, water, soil and from consumer products, among other things. The goal of a pollution-free environment is undisputedly desirable in the abstract. A clear distinction must be made between the goal of a pollution-free environment and a low-pollution environment. In our European industrial and mobile society, it is unlikely that a pollution-free environment can be achieved at a reasonable cost. Instead, a riskbased approach must be at the centre of the political discussion. After all, not every substance classified as a pollutant is an environmental and health hazard by its mere presence.

Action plan not required, 8th EAP sets objectives In October 2020, the EU Commission has already published the draft of the 8th Union Environment Action Programme (EAP) for the period until 2030.

As the EU Commission itself writes, the Environmental Action Programmes guide the development of EU environmental policy. It is not clear why a separate Action Plan is needed in addition to the 8th EAP. The draft of the 8th EAP already identifies the zero pollution ambition for a pollution-free environment, including air, water and soil, and the protection of citizens' health and well-being from environmental risks and impacts as a priority thematic objective.

In addition, the existing specific legislation on water, air, chemicals, etc. serves its purpose and ensures a high level of environmental and health protection.

European industry is currently undergoing structural change and has to cope with the effects of the pandemic. It is therefore important that the Commission's review of the existing legislation aims at further economic development and makes effective implementation and application in the European countries the benchmark.

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BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

Enable legal and planning certainty Legal and planning certainty and an innovation-friendly environment are indispensable for the economic activities of industry. Specifications on industrial emissions in the IED and specifications in the European air quality directives must be regulated in a long-term and reliable manner, as the investment cycles of industry can also be very long. The ability of installations to obtain permits, which is necessary for further development, must not be further restricted - improvements are needed. Proposed changes to EU regulation every 5-10 years contradict this, which is why they should be avoided.

Legal and planning certainty also presupposes that possible distortions of competition between EU countries are avoided. Existing and future regulations must therefore be implemented uniformly and consistently in all other EU countries and not only in Germany.

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BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

2. In Detail 1. Revision of the Water Framework Directive The BDI advocates a revision of the Water Framework Directive. The provisions of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) are relevant in the approval procedure for the construction of plants or the modification of existing plants.

The directive has proven its worth as an instrument of water protection and has contributed significantly to a sustainable water policy. However, due to CJEU rulings, there is increased legal uncertainty with regard to the assessment criteria of the improvement requirement and the prohibition of deterioration with regard to the approval procedures under water law. In addition, the WFD lacks concrete regulations that enable greater consideration of public and economic interests in the necessary balancing against environmental concerns. Moreover, it is already foreseeable that it will not be possible to achieve the stipulated targets by 2027. This makes it all the more important to have exceptions, such as Article 7 (4) of the WFD, which must not be limited to a few water activities from the outset, i.e. there must be a possibility for exceptions for all uses. Authorities in the member states are therefore very uncertain about the requirements to be included in the upcoming management plan 2021 - 2027. Only a revision of the directive can create legal and planning certainty for future investments and existing plants in industry.

2. Revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive is not required As stated in the Action Plan, the directive is the main instrument for regulating emissions of air, water and soil pollutants. The objectives of improving environmental quality and ensuring a level playing field are achieved. A revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive is not necessary. In addition, the BAT procedure enshrined in the directive ensures that best available techniques for industrial installations are subject to continuous review and development. This concept must be maintained. On the other hand, the design of the procedure for determining BAT as such must be improved to a considerable extent.

Overloading the Industrial Emissions Directive would jeopardise its effectiveness. The creation of binding upper limits for resource use is not a task of the directive and stands in the way of innovation.

Finally, it should be pointed out that the EU's goals for reducing greenhouse gases also do not give reason to amend the IED. Other effective instruments

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BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

- in particular the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading system - are already available for reducing greenhouse gases. Mixing and overlapping regulatory areas leads to planning uncertainties, as described above. Article 9 of the IED rightly stipulates that no emission limit values are to be set for greenhouse gas emissions from installations that are already subject to the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading system. We reject a revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive.

3. Revision of the Seveso III Directive is not required No revision of the Seveso III Directive is necessary to prevent industrial damage. European law creates the regulatory prerequisites; application in the member states is decisive.

4. Revision of the European air quality directives are not required A revision of the European air quality directives is not necessary. The Commission's recently published report on the review of these directives concludes that the current legislation provides the necessary tools to address existing challenges. The directives have been effective in improving air quality and achieving high air quality standards. To the extent that these have not yet been fully achieved, this is mainly due to a lack of transposition or application of European law in the Member States, but not to weaknesses in the European requirements.

It must also be considered that the national clean air programmes with the partly very ambitious targets for 2030 (NEC-P Directive) have only just been implemented. This already represents a major challenge for the member states and private actors. Renewed interventions after only a few years should therefore be avoided.

5. Principle of subsidiarity stands against EU regulation of soil The initiative of the EU Commission and various Council Presidencies to create an EU legal framework for soil protection (development of an EU soil protection framework directive) failed at the time due to the resistance of the member states, because the environmental medium "soil" does not have a cross-border effect ("subsidiarity"). The introduction of an EU legal framework for soil should therefore also be avoided in the future with regard to the subsidiarity principle.

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BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

In addition, the concerns of soil protection are convincingly regulated in several member states, for example in the German soil protection act. It is therefore questionable why the Commission should even consider regulations on soil protection. Due to the more than 300 different soil types in Europe and the resulting large national differences, it should be left to each member state to regulate soil protection individually.

6. Responsibility for the protection of biodiversity lies with the member states The Action Plan addresses the forthcoming proposal for legally binding EU targets for the restoration of nature and degraded soil ecosystems. BDI supports the objectives of the convention on biological diversity to conserve biodiversity, to make its use more sustainable and to share the benefits from the use of genetic resources equitably. However, the concrete implementation of the protection of biological diversity is the responsibility of the member states.

Several projects and initiatives for the protection and restoration of biodiversity already exist in the member states - based on European and national regulations. The implementation of additional legal requirements would lead to ambiguities, disruption of the implemented processes and massively impair the effectiveness of the existing instruments. We refer in particular to the practised and established monitoring and ongoing reporting by the member states. The strengthening of established and functioning fields of action is to be advocated.

From the point of view of the German economy, it makes sense to push ahead with the development and concretisation of management plans before designating new areas and to make full use of the existing instruments of the NATURA 2000 directives, as decided in the REFIT process. Furthermore, there should be comprehensive advice on possible fields of action and targeted financial support for concrete projects. The creation of economic incentives also leads to effective promotion of endangered species.

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BDI Position Paper ZPAP air, water and soil

About BDI The Federation of German Industries (BDI) communicates German industries’ interests to the political authorities concerned. She offers strong support for companies in global competition. The BDI has access to a wide-spread network both within Germany and Europe, to all the important markets and to international organizations. The BDI accompanies the capturing of international markets politically. Also, she offers information and politico-economic guidance on all issues relevant to industries. The BDI is the leading organization of German industries and related service providers. She represents 40 inter-trade organizations and more than 100.000 companies with their approximately 8 million employees. Membership is optional. 15 federal representations are advocating industries’ interests on a regional level.

Imprint Federation of German Industries e.V. (BDI) Breite Straße 29, 10178 Berlin, Germany www.bdi.eu T: +49 30 2028-0 Contact Simon Weimer, M.Sc. Senior Manager Telefon: +49 30 20281589 s.weimer@bdi.eu BDI document number: D 1385

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