The Industrial Emissions Directive is the most important EU instrument for regulating pollution from industrial installations, including large intensive livestock farms. The installations regulated by the existing directive - including power plants, refineries and waste treatment plants - account for around 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of pollutant emissions to air and water. To further reduce industrial emissions, the revised directive will include more large intensive livestock farms, including pig and poultry farms, in the scope of the revised directive. Mining activities and large-scale battery production will also be included in the scope of the directive; subject to review by the Commission, the scope may also be extended to industrial minerals.
Member states will lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for non-compliance with the directive. For serious infringements, operators may be required to pay penalties of at least 3% of their annual turnover in the Union. The directive also introduces the right for persons whose health has been adversely affected to claim compensation from persons who infringe the directive.