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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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“ Aether's approach to couple innovative visualisation with high expertise manpower delivered valuable insights for our inventory work. ”

Umweltbundesamt (Germany)

“ It has been a pleasure to work with Chris Dore and Richard Claxton from Aether: they did their job in a very professional and timely manner. The workshop was organized and carried out in a cooperative spirit; the information provided to the workshop participants was complete and clear. ”

Alina Novikova, UN/ECE Secretariat

“ Professional team and very collaborative communication. Effective result in terms of suggestions for improvement in the quality of the inventory and proposals on how to streamline specific topics. ”

Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research

“ From their winning bid to final delivery, Aether's work with North Norfolk District Council was positive and thorough. They brought a clear understanding of the challenges local authorities face regarding carbon emissions and quickly understood the unique nature of the Coastwise project. Communication was effective, and the outcomes combined a depth of research with real-world utility for the council's activities around carbon emissions and mitigation. ”

Alastair Zangs, North Norfolk District Council

“ 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

“ 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

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