Legislation forcing EU member-states to introduce more stringent clean air policies is on the way, an environmental conference has been told.
Mr Prudencio Perera, head of the environmental unit of the European Commission, told the Energy Management Agency's annual meeting in Cork yesterday that a new era in clean air was being ushered in by the EU.
He said that under guidelines which would come into effect in the year 2000, member-states would be required to show they were doing everything in their power to comply with the legislation. There would be consequences for those which did not.
Just as beaches throughout Europe were given flags of quality, cities would be similarly graded in the future. This could have a major impact on tourism in cases where cities not complying with EU directives were given the thumbs-down.
The need to deliver good and clean air to the people inhabiting the cities of Europe was of paramount importance, Mr Perera said. He warned, too, that the problem of air pollution was a complex and integrated one, demanding a complex and integrated strategy for its solution.
He said: "My message to the conference is that this problem is related to many aspects of life in cities and in member-states, including transportation, how the local economy behaves, and domestic usage which can affect the environment.
"We are bringing forward new legislation on air quality which will be delivered by the year 2000 and which will include oxides of nitrogen, lead, benzine and carbon monoxide emissions.
"By 2005 we will expect that every member-state and every city within the member-states will have conformed to the new directives.
"Many cities throughout Europe have already been trying to achieve better air quality on a voluntary basis. When the new legislation arrives, these are the cities that will be ahead. But this is a fundamental problem and it affects everybody. Those who have taken an enlightened approach will be better placed to cope with the new requirements. Those who have lagged behind will find it more difficult."
The two-day conference included contributions from Cork County Council, Cork Corporation and energy agencies throughout the EU.