Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
6.4.2.1. An increase in the number of people involved
The progressive emergence of the issue of atmospheric pollution in the political
world has meant that there has been an increase in the development of a certain
number of institutions, from the AASQA through to global conferences on climate.
However, air quality affects each and every one of us as far as environmental health
is concerned. Atmospheric pollution forms a large part of the French government's
National Plan on Environmental Health (PSNE), which was adopted in 2004.
Making the general public aware of the quality of the air that surrounds them, as
well as getting them involved in fighting against air pollution are the main
objectives of governance.
- Europe plays a key role : ever since the signature of the Single European Act in
1986, the environment has become one of the major strong points of the European
Community. The European environmental policy is mainly based on the use of
regulated equipment. This policy also relies on the use of a long-term strategy, as is
the case for the program known as CAFE 17 . CAFE is made up of numerous
different sections whose economic benefits have been carefully evaluated.
- The introduction of the European Community's Environmental Policy has
made it possible to encourage the creation of an international strategy: the Vienna
Convention (March 22, 1985) and the Montreal Protocol (1988) on aerosols were
precaution strategies that were drawn up to reduce emissions of pollutants, and on
March 14, 1990 a climate adaptation strategy was developed in order to adapt to the
consequences that the strategies introduced in 1985 and 1988 had on the
environment. At the beginning of the 1990s Europe became a continent to be
reckoned with as far as global pollution and the greenhouse effect were concerned.
- The law known as LAURE states that issues relating to air quality are dealt
with on a national level, even if the regional authorities deal with these issues on a
regional level: the State and its public establishments, the local authorities and
private individuals are responsible for adhering to the environmental policy whose
aim is to make sure that everyone has the right to breathe air that does not damage
human health 18 . The result of a debate on hygiene measures, held by a certain
number of important French town councilors, saw a rapid introduction of air quality
monitoring in France with the development of a technical network of measurement
sites that was used to measure how clean the air was with the aim of meeting the
standards set by the European Commission. During this time, air quality monitoring
was no longer supervised by the Ministry of Health, and this power was transferred
to the Ministry of the Environment. Some problems were encountered because of
this shift in power, but it was seen as a defining moment for French politics and
culture. It was the State that developed technical and scientific rationality in France,
with the help of the DRIRE. On a European level, the French government is
responsible of the measurements viability that have been recorded in France and is
responsible for respecting the European standards that were introduced. France is
17 Clean Air For Europe .
18 Article 3 from LAURE.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search