Written question asked by Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 7 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2009. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2009 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ozone

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to reduce levels of ozone in urban areas to within the limits prescribed by EU legislation by 2010.

Answer: Council Directive (2002/3/EC) sets target values for ozone for the protection of human health and ecosystems, to be attained by 2010. Ground level ozone is formed when sunlight acts on nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and other atmospheric substances close to the ground. The pollutants that cause ground level ozone come from a range of sources including industry and combustion sources such as road transport and power generation. Ozone formation can take place over several hours or days and may arise from emissions thousands of kilometres away.Emissions of ozone precursors across the EU are controlled by the National Emissions Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC) which sets limits on the amounts of NOx and VOC's that each member state can emit annually, with ceilings to be met by 2010. The 1999 Gothenburg Protocol does the same for a larger group of countries under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Europe. The UK is currently below its 2010 VOC ceiling and is committed to meeting its NOx ceiling as soon as possible.

Secondary information