86,432,018 petition signatures
Campaign to Reduce Fine-Particle Emissions in Cities
- Target: Leena Luhtanen, Minister of Transport and Communications, The Government of Finland
- Sponsored by: Ilon väreet liitto ry., Ilon väreet liitto ry.
Finland immediately to tranpose The Directive (2003/30/EC) that requires 2% of all road traffic fuels sold be biofuels in 2005 progressively increasing to reach a minimum of 5.75% of fuels sold in 2010.
- We undersigned urge the Government of Finland immediately to tranpose The Directive (2003/30/EC) that requires 2% of all road traffic fuels sold be biofuels in 2005 progressively increasing to reach a minimum of 5.75% of fuels sold in 2010.
We undersigned strongly urge Finland to exceed these goals, and to
represent this plan in the conference of ASEM countries to be held in
Helsinki, 2006, in September. We undersigned also strongly urge
making electric cars and other zero emission vehicles like scooters
and electric bicycles available for consumers with competititve prices
by means of taxation.
Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment, say: “Most of us
live in cities – so the quality of our urban environment is an issue of
daily concern. European environmental legislation is already delivering
cleaner air, improved wastewater treatment and many other
benefits. We are now looking to see how we can best exploit the
positive links between these laws, and how best to support local
authorities in their efforts to improve the urban environment.
We are seeking the views of citizens and experts alike on this.”
Along with drastic climate changes, growing greenhouse gas
emissions, temperature rise and deforestation through legal and
illegal logging and growing amount of forest fires people of the world
have been and are facing drastic changes and consequences in
health, emotional and mental health and economies. New research
results show that almost invisible, airborne fine particles smaller than
2.5 thousandths of a millimetre are a major health risk. Fine particles
are produced by burning coal, oil, natural gas, wood and other
biomasses and by internal combustion engines, especially diesel.
The lifetime of fine particles in the atmosphere is days or weeks,
and they can travel by air thousands of kilometres. Most urban and
other densely populated areas are covered by fine-particle pollution
spread hundreds of kilometres in width and 100-3000 metres in
height. They penetrate directly into lungs and cause allergies, and
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. They are responsible for
deaths of infants and adults. At the levels presently common in cities
and countryside in Europe fine particles cause hundreds of thousands
hospital visits and tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of
thousands deaths each year. According to the Commission of the
European Union illnesses and deaths caused by fine particles cost
the European Union 5000 to 51000 million ecus annually.
More information:
http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc98/edoc8167.htm
These severe health effects make it necessary to reduce fine-particle emissions.
They can be reduced by switching to power plants producing fewer
fine particles or to plants which do not produce fine particles.
Fine-particle pollution caused by traffic will decrease by giving
preference to cars with catalytic converters and in cities to buses using gas.
Electric cars are advantageous.
The Government of Finland and Estonia have not yet informed the EU
Commission of the national laws, changes in taxation and/or measures
they have taken to transpose The Directive (2003/30/EC)
that requires 2% of all diesel and gasoline sold be biofuels in 2005
progressively increasing to reach a minimum of 5.75% of fuels sold in
2010. The Commission has rejected the target 0,1% submitted by
Finland. We undersigned urge that The Commission starts or
advances legal action against the offending countries in EU during
2006. There are a large amount of biofuel production alternatives
that decrease health impacts of traffic by at least 50%, some almost
100%. They simultaneously reduce global warming impacts
drastically. Reaching the 5.75% goal is very simple legislatively since
all that is needed is a law requiring minimum of 5.75% biofuel blending
in all gasoline and diesel fuels sold for traffic use. The biofuel
resources of both countries easily enable that share, and biofuels are
also available in global market. However, by domestic production
large employment benefits and export opportunitie will be gained.
A recent estimate of ECOFYS consulting company puts the value of
traffic biofuel market in EU into 14 - 21 billion euros. And according
to the EU traffic strategy COM(2001)370, each percentage point
that is taken from fossil fuels in the EU traffic energy consumption
yields 45000-75000 new jobs. Biofuels have an important role to play
in European transport and energy policy as one of the few options
available for replacing oil-based transport fuels. They tackle climate
change by avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases; they diversify
Europe’s sources of energy and reduce dependence on oil imports;
and they offer new markets for European agriculture.
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