The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Spain was chided by the European Union’s (EU) top court for failing to clean up dirty air in the capital Madrid and also in parts of Barcelona.
The EU Court of Justice in a ruling said Spain didn’t take the necessary measures in time to avoid exceeding the limits of nitrogen dioxide.
The European Commission in 2020 sued Spain at the EU’s top court, saying the government had violated the bloc’s rules by persistently breaching the legal limits of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, in the urban areas of Madrid, Barcelona and Vallès-Baix Llobregat.
Almost 9,000 premature deaths in Spain are attributable to NO2 each year, the commission said citing data from the European Environment Agency.
The Brussels-based commission has persistently cracked down on dirty air in EU member states in recent years. In 2018, the commission criticised the UK, Germany and France for failing to meet limits on nitrogen oxide, emitted by cars, trucks and factories.
EU court judges have so far ruled in favor of the commission in previous cases.