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NECD Review Week in Brussels

19 June 2026

Members of the Aether team spent a week at the European Commission in Brussels as part of the review of air pollutant inventories submitted under the EU’s National Emission reduction Ceilings Directive (NECD).

The NECD aims to improve air quality by setting out reporting obligations and defining national emission reduction commitments for five main air pollutants that have a harmful impact on our health and the environment.

In addition to assessing whether Member States are compliant with their emission reduction commitments, the review work also evaluates the quality of the inventories submitted. The centralised review week brought together inventory experts from across Europe to assess the completeness, transparency, consistency and accuracy of national air pollutant inventories.  Working collaboratively across the review teams, Aether staff contributed technical expertise across multiple sectors and led quality assurance and quality control (QAQC) activities, helping to ensure that reported emission estimates are robust, comparable and aligned with the requirements of the NECD.

The review process plays an important role in the continuous improvement of the quality of national emissions inventories. Through detailed technical discussions, reviewers identify opportunities to strengthen methodologies and enhance documentation and make recommendations that support EU Member States in producing increasingly reliable emissions estimates year on year.

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Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“ Aether was a great asset in involving/engaging with Member States experts on highly technical subjects regarding GHG reporting. Very clear communication of issues and results. ”

Andreas Pilzecker, DG CLIMA

“ Aether delivered training workshops and generated learning materials for our SSN members, providing technical content in a manageable and comprehendible format. We particularly benefitted from their extensive knowledge and ability to interpret the needs of our members into the training materials. ”

Jennifer Anderson, Sustainable Scotland Network

“ The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team. ”

Shanna Emmanuel, Saint Lucia BUR Project Coordinator

“ A heartfelt thank you to all the Aether team for this very comprehensive review – this is certainly turning out to be one of the most beneficial capacity building projects I have ever been involved in. ”

Saviour Vassallo, Senior Environment Protection Officer, Malta Resources Authority

“ Saint Lucia embraces the professional approach with which this project was undertaken by Aether, particularly their ability to develop mentorship relations with local government experts. This provides a basis for ensuring that the pool of local experts remain engaged and recognized over successive processes. ”

Annette Rattigan-Leo, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer

“ The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional. ”

Clare Bayley, Defra

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