Venice: air pollution and instability of the lagoon
18.2.2019
Question for written answer P-000882-19
to the Commission
Rule 130
Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (S&D)
Pollution levels in Venice are worrying. A concentration of 70 to 90 mg/m2 of NO2 and 68 mg/m2 of PM10 was recorded on five out of the first eight days in January 2019[1]. This is due to a rise in the number of unregulated — there being no appropriate laws controlling them — vessels whose obsolete marine engines spew out pollution. The presence of big ships (as many as 12 during the week-end) emitting sulphur levels up to 3 500 times higher than those of road vehicle diesel engines is also contributory factor in the rise in pollution in the lagoon.
The Venice Port Authority has decided, with the agreement of Venice’s municipal council, on work on the Malamocco-Marghera canal — otherwise known as the ‘oil tankers canal’ — to create a rigid permanent barrier in the middle of the lagoon using sheet piles, to allow large tonnage vessels to enter the lagoon. However, no environmental impact assessment (EIA) or strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has been carried out[2].
What steps will the Commission take to ensure the Italian Government, Venice’s municipal council and local bodies concerned:
- —Take action to regulate and control emissions that are harmful to the local population?
- —Make it mandatory for big ships to use fuels and technologies in the lagoon that are geared towards cutting harmful emissions?
- —Require the Venice Port Authority to produce the EIA and SEA as a matter of urgency before starting work on their project and any other work in the lagoon?