Costs and benefits of agricultural ammonia emission abatement options for compliance with European air quality regulations

Abstract

Background: In Europe, ammonia (NH 3) emissions strongly contribute to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution and associated premature human mortality. The National Emission Ceilings Directive 2016/2284/EU has set an obligation for all European Union countries to reduce the NH 3 emissions by 6%, relative to 2005, by 2020. This study aims to assess the costs and benefits of four NH 3 emission abatement options for the compliance of the agricultural sector with the commitments of the European air quality regulatory framework. A regional atmospheric model (WRF/Chem) was used to assess the effects of regulating NH 3 emissions reductions on PM2.5 concentrations over Europe. Nonmarket valuation techniques (value of statistical life) were used to monetize the associated health outcomes. Results: We calculated that 16 out of the 28 EU member states exceeded their 2020 NH 3 emission ceilings in 2016. The highest exceedances from the 2020 emission commitment level occurred in Latvia (15%), Germany (12%) and the UK (12%). Simulation of the required NH 3 emission reduction by WRF/Chem showed that relatively large reductions in PM2.5 concentrations occur over central-western Europe and the UK. The largest health benefits (> 5% reduction in premature mortality) were found for Scandinavia. The economic benefit from avoided premature deaths over Europe amounts to 14,837 M€/year. The costs of four NH 3 emission abatement options, where each would fully achieve the required emission reduction, range from 80 M€/year for low nitrogen feed to 3738 M€/year for low-emission animal housing, with covered manure storage (236 M€/year) and urea fertilizer application (253 M€/year), in between. Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that the costs of compliance by the agricultural sector with the commitments of the European air quality regulations are much lower than the economic benefit. Thus, much more ambitious reduction commitments for NH 3 emissions could be applied by the EU-28. The monetization of the health benefits of NH 3 emission abatement policies and the assessment of the implementation costs can help policy-makers devise effective air pollution control programmes.

Ammonia and PM2.5 Air Pollution in Paris during the 2020 COVID Lockdown

“…Data were obtained via the open access database provided by Airparif, the association responsible for air quality monitoring in the Paris region (https://www.airparif.asso.fr/en/telechargement/ telechargement-polluant). Over the studied period (and the investigated pollution events), PM 2.5 and NO 2 averaged concentrations were 12 (28) and 29 (35) µg/m 3 , respectively. The spatial variability of hourly concentrations, calculated as the standard deviation (SD) of the datasets available for 13 stations (Figure S1), led to an average value of 4 (7) and 22 (17) µg/m 3 , respectively.…”

Describing the trend of ammonia, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides: The role of livestock activities in northern Italy during Covid-19 quarantine

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