latest news

 England’s industrial emissions regime and the environmental permitting regulations

Ecocentric has been commissioned by Milieu to look into the environmental requirements of setting up a factory in England by 2029. The project will evaluate the likely changes in the alignment of relevant EU and UK legislation and bring insights from the IEEP UK work streams on UK/EU divergence. (April 2026)

Analysing Malta's implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise

Ecocentric was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee of Petitions to evaluate Malta’s implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on the assessment and management of environmental noise (END). It evaluates the reasons for the several complaints about noise pollution in Malta and provides suggestions to overcome these.

The report found that there are only minor END transposition and infringement issues and the implementation problems are linked to delays to the publication of responses to the public consultation and Action Plans.  It became clear that the noise sources causing the majority of all complaints were from sources not covered by the END, such as from the entertainment and construction industry. The study then focused on these noise sources outside the remit of END and evaluated relevant Maltese legislation, the role of authorities and good practice examples from Europe. The conclusions and recommendations are Malta specific, but they also provide broader insights into how noise pollution can be mitigated through a more holistic approach, such as soundscapes, and put it on equal terms with air pollution. (February 2026)

Peter Hjerp presented the findings of the study to the Eurropean Parliament 24.3.2026. 

The report and executive summary are available at:

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/IUST_STU(2026)783089

Multi-Country Support to the Revised EU Emissions Trading System

Peter Hjerp, as an Ernst & Young Associate, completed an 18 month’s project supporting the implementation of the new Emission Trading System 2 (ETS2). The project was funded by DG REFORM with involvement from DG CLIMA and provided support for Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Finland. Peter was the deputy project manager and responsible for supporting the Finnish Energy Authority in identifying legislative, institutional and operational challenges and opportunities for improvement. The project reports are confidential. (December 2025)