On June 5th, the World Environment Day is celebrated. It was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations to "sensitize the world population in relation to environmental issues, intensifying political attention and action."
In this context, the Auditor.info brings to account a report by the Auditor General of Norway -on the 2014 - 2005 period which ensures that the Nordic country "does not meet improvement goals" to ensure good "air quality" in urban areas.
The control agency assessed 14 municipalities that have "high levels of concentration of suspended particles," which generate harmful health effects, and found that 11 locations are "out of the national goal" to monitor "the pollution of particulate matter."
Now, where do these particles that we breathe proceed from? The main source is the "motor vehicle traffic," say the auditors. But they can also occur naturally, such as dust or other human activities, for example, public works and mining.
Nitrogen dioxide is also a common contaminant in urban areas and is a product of combustion processes at high temperatures, such as motor vehicles and electric power plants. On the level of this chemical, the audit says that "in Bergen, Drammen, Oslo, Trondheim and Stavanger it was exceeded several times the limit regulated in 2010."
To this current situation it adds that "through 2014, several municipalities had not prepared assessments of possible measures according to the needs."
In addition, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the National Highway Direction certify that "some municipalities do not adopt the instruments due to the controversy of local politics."
It is that "the current division of responsibilities between government sectors can result in spraying of responsibility" and consequently the "inability to define and implement effective measures."
That's why the Auditor General of Norway recommends the "collaboration" of the Ministry of Transport and Communications together with the Ministry of Climate and Environment to "make it clear to the municipalities what are the tools available and what effects they have on air quality."
In the same way, it advised to "review the division of activities among government sectors" to achieve a "more efficient use of policies."