Brussels files lawsuit against Portugal for poor air quality
Brussels files lawsuit against Portugal for poor air quality
In a statement, the European Commission points out that Portugal has “continuously and persistently” exceeded the annual limit value of nitrogen dioxide in three air quality zones: North Lisbon, Porto Litoral and Entre Douro e Minho.
The European Commission (EC) has brought an action against Portugal in the Court of Justice of the European Union due to poor air quality caused by high levels of nitrogen dioxide.
In a statement, the EC clarifies that Portugal has “continuously and persistently” exceeded the annual limit value of nitrogen dioxide in three air quality zones: North Lisbon, Porto Litoral and Entre Douro e Minho.
Air pollution caused by nitrogen dioxide zones “are a result of road traffic, in particular diesel vehicles”, points out Brussels.
In addition, the European Commission had already twice notified – in May 2019 and later in February 2020 – the Portuguese government of the respective areas.
Despite this, the community executive emphasizes that the Portuguese efforts to resolve a situation are “unsatisfactory and insufficient”, for which reason it decided to bring an action against Portugal in the EU Court of Justice.