Bid to draw up guidelines on pollution

Date: 11/06/1998

By Simon Coss

MEMBER states will next week try to draw up some basic guidelines for protecting the environment from the ravages of cars, trucks, trains and aeroplanes.

Environment and transport ministers will meet in a special joint session next Wednesday (17 June) when they will attempt to agree on a common set of criteria for ensuring environmental considerations are taken into account when governments are planning transport policy.

Initiatives likely to be discussed include reducing noise pollution from vehicles, encouraging people to use public transport where possible and reducing emissions from cars of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2).

Next week's session is not intended to produce any binding legislation for transport and the environment, with officials pointing out that traditional Council of Ministers' discussions are already under way on a number of initiatives to green the Union's transport policy.

Experts say the meeting is also unlikely to suggest a set of 'one-size-fits-all' guidelines for the EU as a whole, as problems vary greatly between individual member states.

Instead, ministers are expected to stress the need for administrations to encourage local and national initiatives, and to share information with EU partners so that countries can learn from each other's 'best practice'.