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The prohibition of mercury discharges from coal-fired power stations under European law

Peter Kremer

elni Review 2013,  pp. 51-58. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2013.007

Despite diverse pledges on climate change and plans to render the energy supply 100 percent renewable, in October 2012 there were eight coal-fired power stations under construction in Germany with a combined capacity of 8,600 MW and combined projected emissions of nearly 50 million tonnes of CO2. Coal-fired power stations emit not just climate-damaging CO2, but many other pollutants besides. The most relevant of these to human health is mercury. In this article, therefore, it is asked what instruments are available under prevailing law to prohibit the construction of new coal-fired power stations and to make their approval subject to judicial review. The discussion centers on the Water Framework Directive. First, however, a look is taken at the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), with the focus on airborne and waterborne mercury emissions. 

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References

 

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