Webinar on the EU's NEC Directive and air pollution
Sikrer EU's NEC-Direktiv renere luft for europæerne? Dét var titlen og omdrejningspunktet på et webinar, som Rådet for Grøn Omstilling afholdt d. 28. oktober 2025.
The EU's NEC Directive ('National Emission reduction Commitments Directive') aims to reduce emissions of five air pollutants in Europe by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
However, not all pollutants are included in the directive. The greenhouse gas methane is excluded, despite the fact that it contributes to air pollution through the formation of ground-level ozone, which harms public health, crops, biodiversity and ecosystems. According to the European Environment Agency, 70.000 premature deaths could potentially be prevented if ground-level ozone values remained within WHO air quality guidelines, and ozone damage to crops in Europe alone costs at least 2 billion euros per year.
The NEC Directive will be evaluated by the end of 2025, which will open the discussion on which air pollutants the directive should cover. Against this background, the Council for the Green Transition focused on the directive and air pollution in the EU:
First, Lærke Kjærbye-Thygesen, advisor to the Green Transition Denmark, introduced the NEC Directive and the Green Transition Denmark's focus on methane.
Afterwards, EU parliamentarian for the Moderates Stine Bosse spoke about the necessity of still taking climate and environment into account in the changed European political landscape, where discussions about competitiveness dominate the agenda.
Thomas Ellermann, senior researcher at the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University, then went into depth about how methane contributes to air pollution in Europe and the consequences thereof.
Finally, Margherita Tolotto, policy manager for air and noise at the European Environmental Bureau, presented the NEC Directive and gave an update on where the EU stands right now.
You can watch or rewatch the presentations below and find PowerPoint slides from the presentations on the right.
Financed with a grant from the European Council. Responsibility for the content lies solely with the grant recipient.
See Lærke Kjærbye-Thygesen's introduction to the NEC Directive here:
See slides here
