US embassy cable - 05ROME2763

UNCLAS  ROME 002763 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR OES/ENV, EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV, KSCA, IT, EU 
SUBJECT:  PARTICULATE MATTER AIR POLLUTION IN ITALY:  AN 
INTRACTABLE PROBLEM WITH NO EASY SOLUTION 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  Air pollution is a serious and intractable problem 
in Italy, causes health problems, and shortens Italian life 
spans.  Emissions levels and particulate matter (PM) 
concentrations are highest in Italy's northern industrial Po 
Valley between Bologna, Milan and Turin.  While industry and 
vehicular traffic are the primary contributors to PM pollution 
in the north, Italy's Mediterranean climate and airborne 
materials like dust, volcanic dust, and marine spray also 
contribute to high PM levels in the less industrial south.  When 
EU anti-air pollution guidelines and pollution limits came into 
effect last January, Italy's PM emissions were above the EU 
limits despite GOI programs to provide better air quality 
monitoring, expand public transportation, and offer incentives 
to reduce vehicular traffic.  From January through March, Rome 
and seven major cities imposed Sunday and/or alternate weekday 
driving bans as temporary measures to reduce PM emissions from 
the major source of PM air pollution, passenger vehicles, the 
source of 70 percent of PM in Italy.  After the shock of this 
winter's draconian traffic bans, the GOI is tackling the problem 
systematically.  A ministerial decree established the National 
Commission on the Atmospheric Pollution Emergency (CNEIA). 
CNEIA, whose twelve working groups will announce findings in 
September, has set the goal of reducing PM concentrations and 
other related emissions by 30 percent to meet EU guidelines.  In 
addition, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) has created a group 
of experts, representing the PM emitting and health sectors, to 
address the critical industrial and transportation aspect of PM 
pollution.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
ITALY CONSISTENTLY OVER EU EMISSIONS LIMITS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  EU Directive 1999/30/CE and its Italian counterpart, 
ministerial decree 351, set the deadline for compliance with 
annual EU-wide and Italian PM emission limits as of January 1, 
2005.  The limits require annual averages to be below 40 
micrograms of PM emissions per cubic meter.  Daily averages of 
PM emissions must be below 50 micrograms per cubic meter, and 
this limit must not be exceeded more than 35 days per year. 
Since EU Directive 2001/839/EC, all EU member states must report 
PM and other pollutant emission levels annually to the EC; this 
directive also obliges members breaching limits to attain 
specified target ranges by 2005 and 2010.  However, there are no 
penalties for non-compliance with either the EU or national 
targets. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
EARLY 2005  CITY CENTERS SHUT DOWN TO REDUCE POLLUTION 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
3.  After EU anti-air pollution guidelines and pollution limits 
went into effect on January 1, 2005, Rome and seven other major 
cities imposed traffic bans in city centers to reduce PM 
pollution from the main cause, vehicles.  Every other Thursday 
for twelve weeks, Rome alternately banned cars with even and odd 
license plates from driving in the central area.  Most 
motorcycles, mopeds ("motorinos"), and Euro 4 environment- 
friendly cars escaped the ban; but older diesel cars and other 
excessive polluters like Euro 0 motorcycles were completely 
banned.  In February, still struggling to comply with EU 
regulations, seven other Italian cities enforced similar traffic 
bans every Sunday and fined drivers who did not respect the 
imposed traffic bans. 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
ITALY'S CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLLUTION 
------------------------------------- 
 
4.  In 2000, Italy contributed eleven percent of total EU PM10 
emissions. (I can't find other countries' percentages. I found 
this fact in an Italy specific article and I can't seem to find 
any articles on the EU webpages, or in general, that compare the 
EU member states PM emission percentages.)  PM10 is particulate 
matter pollution composed of larger particles, usually made of 
natural or other primary substances.  Primary substances are 
natural particles such as salt or sand, while secondary 
substances are compounds with natural substances and/or 
pollutant gases formed in airborne chemical reactions or 
cohesions.  Italy contributed twelve percent of total EU PM2.5, 
composed of smaller, usually secondary, particles and causes 
more health risks than PM10.  (Secondary particles are compounds 
with natural substances and/or pollutant gases formed in 
airborne chemical reactions or cohesions.)  Only 78 percent of 
total PM emissions in Italy, however, are actually emitted 
nationally.  Wind can carry PM2.5 especially far, and thus, all 
 
 
of Italy is affected by PM2.5 emitted in other countries. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
ITALY'S PM PROBLEM  BLAME IT ON THE MOBILE SOCIETY 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
5.  Overall, APAT, Italy's Environmental Protection Agency, 
reports that transport causes 70 percent of all PM in Italy. 
According to the "Italian Environment 2005" study, Italy's car- 
to-person ratio in Italy is the highest in Europe  59.3 cars 
for every 100 inhabitants.  Additionally, nearly 45 percent of 
Italy's commercial vehicles are older than ten years, the 
highest in Europ; and they consequently pollute more.  Despite 
the fact that individual cars contribute less to PM, Italy's 
great increase in automobiles, according to APAT, is responsible 
e 
for Italy's lack of progress in reducing PM emissions to EU- 
acceptable levels.  Also unique to Italy are its polluting 
mopeds and motorbikes, "motorinos," that zip in and out of 
traffic.  While higher-polluting motorbikes have been subject to 
traffic bans in many historic city centers during certain hours, 
the EU has not passed stricter regulations on them because Italy 
is the only member state with such a significant number of these 
vehicles in use.  Unfortunately for Italy, prospects for fewer 
"motorinos" in the traffic mix are not in the cards.  According 
to the MOE, a more efficient (more buses versus expensive 
electric buses), sufficient, and non-polluting public transport 
system is years away in the cash-strapped regions.  Expenses of 
lower-polluting underground and light-rail public transport 
systems are further compounded, given Italy's population and 
antiquity densities in historic urban centers. 
 
------------------------------------- 
SERIOUS EFFECTS ON ITALIAN MORTALITY 
------------------------------------- 
 
6.  While current life expectancies are 78 years for men and 84 
years for women in Italy and 75.1 years for men and 81.6 years 
for women in the EU overall, recent studies have shown that air 
pollution is having more serious effects on life expectancy for 
Italians than for other EU citizens.  According to recent World 
Health Organization (WHO) reports, every Italian loses nine 
months of life, compared to only 8.6 on average for the rest of 
the EU on account of exposure to PM.  106 Italians die every day 
from the effects of PM.  If Italy reduced PM air pollution to 
the annual EU average limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter, 
every Italian would gain 3.4 months of life, meaning that from 
now until 2020, Italy would avoid 12,000 deaths. 
 
7.  As for negative health effects, both PM10 and the smaller 
PM2.5 can trigger irritating coughs, heart arrhythmias, blood 
clots, strokes, cancerous tumors, and increased hospital stays 
for those with existing cardiac or pulmonary problems.  In 2000, 
Italy spent 59 to 126 million euro paying for health care 
related to the effects of PM.  If it fully implements EU 
legislation, Italy could lower that amount to 38 to 82 million 
euro by 2020. 
 
----------------------------------- 
ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 
----------------------------------- 
 
8.  Because wind can carry PM long distances, air pollution 
often contributes to acidification of lakes and damages 
sensitive forest and farm crops, thus reducing agricultural 
revenue.  Italy also suffers unquantified losses in tourism 
revenues PM smog that causes monument erosion ("stone cancer") 
and haze.  Italy's slow economic growth in recent years makes 
funds hard to come by to help mitigate these negative effects. 
According to a June article in La Repubblica (a leading left-of- 
center daily newspaper), the Interministerial Economic Planning 
Committee (CIPE) only dedicates six percent of investments to 
economic damage from PM pollution. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
GOI EFFORTS TO REDUCE PM: CUTTING TOXICITY 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
9.  To balance the picture, over the last fifteen years, Italy 
successfully reduced pollutants that increase PM toxicity by 
switching to unleaded fuel and using alternative energy sources, 
like wind farms and substituting natural gas for oil.   The 
country has seen an 83 percent cut in sulfur emissions, a 70 
percent cut in carbon monoxide, and similar decreases in 
nitrogen emissions.  While decreased sulphur and carbon 
emissions could have contributed to falling PM emissions levels, 
PM pollution emissions have not decreased for the last several 
 
 
years because of the transport issues described earlier. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
GOI EFFORTS TO REDUCE PM: MONITORING STATIONS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
10.  In 1994, the Italian Ministry of Atmospheric Pollution and 
Mobility (IAM) updated its PM monitoring stations to conform to 
EU standards, which required stations to be in more direct 
contact with emissions.  The MOE, however, noted that Italian 
stations never passed through the same quality-guaranteeing 
phases like stations in other EU member states.  Now, at more 
local levels, the MOE has extensive projects in place to 
position monitor stations in the most "representative" 
locations. 
 
-------------------------------- 
POLLUTION-REDUCTION INITIATIVES 
-------------------------------- 
 
11.  Following the legislation passed in 1999 and 2000 that set 
PM emission limits for 2005 and 2010, the MOE expanded public 
transportation, created local and regional "mobility manager" 
positions for the transport sector, and promoted methanol-based 
gasoline.  Since 1999, the MOE has spent at least 306.3 million 
euro for vehicles, providing incentives and funds to individuals 
and localities to buy electrical or hybrid cars.  The government 
initiative "Finance 2005" exempts biodiesel taxation 2005-2010. 
In July, the MOE announced an allocation of ten million euro for 
car-sharing initiatives.  In the last twelve months, the number 
of people participating in car-sharing has nearly doubled from 
2,200 to 4,300. 
 
---------------------- 
NEW COMMISSION FORMED 
---------------------- 
 
12.  The National Commission for the Atmospheric Pollution 
Emergency (CNEIA), created in March, is the GOI's latest 
initiative to tackle the problem.  CNEIA has determined that PM 
concentrations and those of all other related emissions must be 
reduced by 30 percent nationally to reduce annual average 
concentrations for Italy to meet the EU limits.  CNEIA has 
twelve working groups that will announce findings and plans for 
reducing Italy's PM emissions in September.  The CNEIA will 
collect and interpret PM pollutant information from Italy's 
regions as well as from the EU.  The new body will also 
formulate workable, technological and organizational ways to 
reduce PM emissions.  Bruno Agricola, MOE Director General for 
Environmental Safety, has created an additional permanent group 
of experts from the critical emitting sectors and health sectors 
to work with the Commission to create more air-friendly 
industrial and transport processes. 
 
-------- 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
13.  The GOI faces a serious challenge to reduce PM emissions, 
given the transport sector's heavy (70 percent) contribution to 
air pollution as a result of Italy's high car-to-inhabitant 
ratio, the high average age of Italy's commercial vehicles, and 
the popularity of "motorinos" in congested city centers.  The 
Ministry of Environment experts we consulted thought that 
programs would only be effective if the GOI could make the 
population aware of the hazardous health effects of PM and the 
significant contribution of vehicular transport to air 
pollution.  A recent study by the Institute of Public Opinion 
Studies (ISPO), however, revealed that the majority of Italians 
do realize that they are contributing to health-damaging air 
pollution, but they are not willing to drive less because they 
consider public transportation inefficient and parking around 
public transportation to be lacking.  In addition, the GOI may 
have a harder time convincing people to use public 
transportation alternatives in light of recent transportation- 
related terrorist attacks in Europe.  With the establishment of 
the National Commission for the Atmospheric Pollution Emergency, 
the GOI has taken a step in the right direction by reformulating 
existing public awareness, transport, and energy programs that 
target PM pollution into a comprehensive and effective strategy 
designed to bring Italy into compliance with EU PM limits.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
14.  This message was drafted by ECON-SCI intern Michelle 
Lanspa. 
SPOGLI 
 
 
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 2005ROME02763 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED