Abstract
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions are an important global issue as air pollutants lead to approximately 7 million deaths per year (World Health Organization). In an attempt to combat this global threat, countries in the European Union (EU) allocate relatively large funds for environmental policies. The main goal of this paper is to assess the long-term efficiency of the EU countries’ environmental policy in reducing the pressure of particulates pollution on the natural environment. For this purpose, multilevel panel regression models based on seminal within–between specification are used. The models are run for a panel of 25 EU countries for the years 2004–2016. In the investigations, we tried to capture the effect of the share of utilized agricultural area (UAA) in non-urban areas of the analyzed countries, as it may potentially influence policy efficiency. It was found that environmental spending in all main categories (pollution abatement, biodiversity, R&D, and environmental protection) had a significant impact on decreasing pollution pressure; however, the policy was more efficient in countries which had a lower share of UAA in their non-urban areas. The study emphasized that the impact of “pollution abatement” expenditure may be underestimated in basic panel models.
Highlights
According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates based on data from 185 countries, air pollution is responsible for approximately 7 million deaths per year [1]
We can say that the influence of the European Union (EU)-25 environmental policy on reducing PM2.5 emission has been proved in that a growth of expenditures causes a significant decrease in PM2.5
Environmental spending has a significant impact on a decrease of pollution pressure, but the policy is more efficient in countries which have a lower share of utilized agricultural area (UAA) in their non-urban areas;
Summary
According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates based on data from 185 countries, air pollution is responsible for approximately 7 million deaths per year [1]. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions remain an important global problem [2] and around 95% of the world’s population livs in regions where the concentration of PM2.5 in the air exceeds the WHO standard of 10 μg/m3 This problem primarily affects countries in South-East Asia and the Middle East, air pollution poses a risk to the health of the population within the European Union (EU), especially in the lesser developed new member states. According to the air quality report in 2017, exposure to PM2.5 is responsible for 399,000 premature deaths in EU countries [3] This is why the problem of air pollution is currently one of the key issues discussed at the international level, as demonstrated by the annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The benefits of better health are estimated at around 62 billion, meaning that investments would be almost offset [6]
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