Towards a European emissions inventory

Plans for a European version of the US Toxics Release Inventory appear to be advancing rapidly. The European Commission outlined legislative proposals in a consultative document in January, and followed up with a meeting to discuss the initiative with the governments of EC and EFTA countries, industrialists and environmentalists. Europe's chemical industry has reacted by issuing its own proposals for voluntary reporting of emissions data in the hope of persuading the Commission that legislation is unnecessary.