Spain must significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from road traffic and control industrial emissions to lower tropospheric ozone levels before 2030 (IMAGE)
Caption
The conclusions of the report "Bases científicas para un Plan Nacional de Ozono" [Scientific Bases for a National Ozone Plan], published by the Sub-Directorate General for Pollution Prevention of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, indicate that it is essential, before 2030, to achieve objectives such as a 60% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from road traffic compared to 2019; a 20% decrease in the same emissions from maritime transport; and the frequent monitoring of industrial facilities that account for a high percentage of total ozone precursor emissions.
Tropospheric ozone is found in the lower layers of the atmosphere and can have harmful effects on both human health and ecosystems, especially forests and agricultural yields. It is a secondary pollutant generated through photochemical reactions (in the presence of sunlight) from other primary pollutants, known as “precursors”, which are mainly nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Its main sources include road, maritime, and air traffic, as well as industrial activities.
In the preliminary study that served as the basis for the report, the scientific staff who prepared it stressed that during the period prior to the pandemic there was systematic non-compliance across almost all Spanish regions with the guideline values of the World Health Organisation and the standards of the 2008 European Directive, an issue made even more critical by the publication in 2024 of a new directive with stricter targets. The decline in levels during the pandemic suggests that there is room for action to improve ozone levels in Spain.
The multidisciplinary group in charge of drafting the report consisted of around forty scientists, coordinated by Xavier Querol of the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), and included contributions from research teams at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM), the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), and the collaboration of the universities of Zaragoza, Huelva and Aveiro (Portugal).
At the UJI, the Environmental and Energy Engineering Applied to Industrial Processes Group (GAIA) of the Agustín Escardino Institute of Ceramic Technology, led by Eliseo Monfort, contributed to campaigns measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and to the analysis of inventories and corrective measures regarding industrial emissions in areas with high ozone concentrations. To ensure that the information collected was realistic, 50 of the 80 largest industrial companies emitting ozone precursors, across eleven industrial sectors located in Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, and the Valencian Community, were visited.
Credit
Universitat Jaume I of Castellón
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