Connect with us

News

EU vows to tighten air, water pollution policy

FI

Published

on

Citizens of European Union countries could be able to sue polluters of air and water as part of class action law suits under new regulations being drawn up by the 27-nation bloc.

The new proposals will see air and water pollution brought down to zero by 2050, and in the case of micro-pollutants in water, the rule of ‘polluter pays’ will apply, with the EU estimating that 92 percent of them come from pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

“The longer we wait to reduce this pollution, the higher the costs to society. By 2050, we want our environment to be free of harmful pollutants,” said EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. “Our proposals to further reduce water and air pollution are a crucial piece of that puzzle.”

Once they have been formally suggested, the new rules on air quality will have to be negotiated and approved by EU member states.

Under the proposals, existing EU legislation including the Ambient Air Quality Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive will be updated, with those who have suffered as a result of the flouting of regulations able to seek compensation.

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said this would be backed up by “easier procedures for local and regional authorities to go against and impose penalties against the polluters,” and that on the subject of air pollution, the aim was to get standards closer to those of the World Health Organization.

“People tell us that they want clean air to breathe. People living in cities, asthma sufferers and those living near industrial plants, they are all worried and they are asking us to act,” he added. “The Commission will lead the way with an ambitious proposal to strengthen EU air quality standards.”

Air quality has long been a significant health issue in Europe. According to figures from the European Environment Agency, in the early 1990s, fine particulate pollution caused nearly one million premature deaths, a figure that had been more than halved by 2005.

More recent data shows that number is now down to closer to 300,000, and if WHO guidelines were followed, that figure could be halved again.

But air quality campaigners said the decision not to match EU standards with those of the WHO was “a missed opportunity”.

Barbara Stoll, director of the Clean Cities Campaign, commented that “setting air pollution limits that are not aligned with the latest health science is like suggesting people keep smoking but stick to light cigarettes”.

Environmental law firm Client-Earth said financial penalties for polluters but not the enforcers of the rules was also missing the point somewhat.

“Air quality standards are an empty promise if there are no financial sanctions in place to hold governments accountable if they breach them,” the organization’s head of clean air, Ugo Taddei, told the Reuters news agency.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

News

President Solih operated on orders from a foreign diplomat: President Muizzu

FI

Published

on

By

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu alleges that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from a foreign diplomat.

In an interview with Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu was asked for a response to criticism from the opposition regarding a recent procurement of military drones.

President Muizzu noted that the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), when it held office from 2018-2023, also held a supermajority in the Parliament.

However, the party failed to protect Maldives’ independence, leaving it in the hands of a foreign country, he said.

He said that President Solih had operated on orders from a foreign ambassador, which resulted in extensive damage.

However, he did not specify which foreign country he was referring to.

“We had lost independence in all sense of the word, including economically. After having done all this, they would naturally not accept our efforts to remedy all this and put the country on a track that the Maldivian people want, towards a ‘Dhiveheenge Raajje’,” he said.

Regarding the cost of the drones, President Muizzu said that while he believes in transparency, such military secrets aren’t disclosed by any country.

“In such matters that is crucial to national security, I am heavily reliant on counsel from our chief of defense force and our generals. Therefore, I will follow their counsel, and I will listen to them,” he said.

President Muizzu said that no value can be attached to the independence of Maldives, and that it is in fact “priceless.”

While the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration accuses the former administration of getting overly dependent on India, the MDP accuses the incumbent administration of ruining age-old ties with India and fostering closer ties with China.

President Muizzu had campaigned on the promise of expelling Indian soldiers stationed in Maldives, which he said was a threat to the country’s national security. The soldiers are now being replaced by Indian civilians.

Source(s): sun.mv

Continue Reading

News

China’s Shandong province donates 10 civil vehicles to Maldives

FI

Published

on

By

The eastern Chinese province of Shandong has donated 10 civil vehicles to the Maldives.

The donation was handed over by Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin to the Maldives’ Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar on Thursday evening.

Wang wrote on X that she is very pleased to handover the donation.

“I believe those vehicles will help a lot in collecting waste and other public works in different cities, and make Maldives a more beautiful place,” she said.

Meanwhile, Adam Shareef expressed profound gratitude for the generous donation.

“This meaningful gesture symbolizes the supportive friendship between our two nations,” he wrote on X.

Source(s): sun.mv

Continue Reading

News

Government aims to expand Aasandha service to UAE and Thailand this year

FI

Published

on

By

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu says his administration aims to expand the services of the public health insurance scheme – Aasandha – to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand within this year.

In an interview to Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu said that administrative arrangements to expand the services to the two countries are going ahead at a fast pace.

“We therefore have high expectations it can begin this year,” he said.

He did not provide any details.

In a press briefing on January 13, following a state visit to China, President Muizzu said his administration plans to expand Aasandha services to countries that offer better quality medical care services, including the UAE and Thailand.

“In the future, Aasandha will not be restricted to medical facilities in specific countries in a specific region, but will be expanded to countries that offer better services such as UAE and Thailand,” he said, while speaking to reporters from the Velana International Airport.

He also announced plans to provide Aasandha coverage for accommodation as well.

Aasandha services are currently available overseas in select medical facilities in neighboring Sri Lanka and India.

The decision to expand Aasandha comes amid concern over the growing burden on the state budget for the provision of the service. The cost of Aasandha has been growing yearly. On Wednesday, Social and Family Development Minister Dr. Aishath Shiham said the expenditure on Aasandha had increased by 60 percent over the last five years.

She said the administration is studying different models in an effort to switch to one that minimizes wastage.

MVR 1.9 billion is allocation in this year’s budget for Aasandha services.

Source(s): sun.mv

Continue Reading

Trending