With the revision of the EU’s ambient air quality directives, proposed on Wednesday 26 October, the European Commission aims to update and tighten up legislation that has proven successful in cleaning up the air but has failed to curb air pollution - the leading environmental cause of health impacts in the EU, with some 300,000 premature deaths per year in 2019 in the EU, as well as a host of respiratory diseases and cancers.
96% of EU city dwellers are still exposed to air pollution levels above WHO guidelines, according to the latest assessment by the European Environment Agency (see EUROPE 12924/16) - a scourge that the EEA says could be avoided if stricter WHO standards published in September 2021 to revise those of 2005 were met.
The head of the ‘European Green Deal’, Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, stressed the need to “upgrade” “obsolete” directives on the basis of the latest scientific knowledge. He felt that the Commission was tackling a problem that worries 90% of citizens, according to the Eurobarometer published by the institution two days earlier (see EUROPE 13049/6).
For the time being, the Commission’s main proposal is to align EU standards more closely with WHO recommendations, as promised in 2021 (see EUROPE 12797/9). In doing so, it paves the way for cleaner air in Europe by 2030 as a first step towards the EU’s ‘Zero Pollution’ ambition for 2050.
The Zero Pollution Action Plan of May 2021 set the stage for the EU’s transition to ‘zero pollution’ of air, soil and water by 2050, with targets to be achieved by 2030 to realise the ambition of a non-toxic environment for human health and natural ecosystems in the long term (see EUROPE 12719/4).
“We propose to set interim targets for 2030 to align our standards more closely with the WHO recommendations. At the same time, we are setting a trajectory to achieve zero pollution by 2050 at the latest, through the regular review of standards, which will reduce the number of premature deaths by at least 70% in ten years”, said EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The proposed directive will merge EU Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC into a single text.
Fine particles, the Commission splits the difference. For the finest and most dangerous particles, PM 2.5, which penetrate most deeply into the lungs, the Commission proposes a new legally binding maximum limit value of 10 μg/m³, which is stricter than the current directive (25 μg/m³) but much less ambitious than the WHO guidelines: 5 μg/m³.
The Commission relies on the regular review mechanism to update the standards in line with science and technology. The first of these reviews will take place in 2028.
Strengthened governance and enforcement. Under the proposal, air quality plans will have to be more effective in preventing instances of Member States exceeding EU standards, as many of them are subject to infringement procedures for habitually exceeding the standards.
To strengthen the enforceability of the future directive, the text also introduces new provisions on access to justice for citizens, compensation for damage to their health and dissuasive penalties for offenders.
Citizens whose health will be endangered by excessive pollution in breach of EU legislation will be able to take legal action through collective redress. “We are providing them with this tool and we are harmonising the rules so that the competent authorities can impose sanctions”, the commissioner said.
The proposal also provides for more cross-border cooperation on air quality.
Air quality monitoring and assessment. The Commission proposes the simplification and improvement of air quality monitoring and the increased use of air quality modelling.
New provisions will also require monitoring of pollutants of emerging concern such as ultrafine particles, black carbon and ammonia.
It will be up to national and local authorities to determine the specific measures they will take to meet the EU standards once they are adopted.
Better communication. Information on air quality will be further updated.
The text also includes an obligation for air quality indices to provide an hourly report of available air quality data.
In addition, there will be an obligation to inform the public of the possible health impacts of poor air quality and to provide recommendations.
The Commission underlines that existing and new EU policies in the fields of environment, energy, transport, agriculture, research and innovation will contribute to both the objectives and the ambition.
See the proposal in English: https://aeur.eu/f/3t2 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)