Ln February 20, the European Union (EU) took a crucial step by updating air quality standards. The agreement plans to get closer to recommendations from the World Health Organizationthus progressing towards its objective of zero pollution by 2050. If this revision is a step forward towards a healthier Europe, caveats are necessary to guarantee its success.
Improving air quality is urgent for five reasons. First, air pollution remains the greatest environmental threat to health and a major cause of chronic diseases, including stroke, cancer and diabetes. Despite significant progress in this area, approximately 300,000 deaths are attributed to air pollution each year.European Environment Agency – the equivalent of the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic –, also leading to colossal economic losses due to absences from work and the cost of care.
Second, reducing air pollution is compatible with economic activity. The EU has many instruments to tackle this problem, for example through policies covering the environment, energy, transport, agriculture, industry or research and innovation, as well as specific funds. Third, air pollution disproportionately affects vulnerable groups: children and the elderly, as well as those suffering from comorbidities or in precarious situations. Guaranteeing air quality is therefore essential to reduce health inequalities within our continent.
Fourth, polluted air harms forests, ecosystems and crops, significantly affecting biodiversity and the services it provides. Finally, if air quality is essentially a local issue – unlike CO emissions2 –, air pollutants cross borders. A coordinated response is therefore necessary in order to avoid tensions between EU countries.
“Special circumstances”
The February 20 agreement emphasizes access to information and justice, and the creation of roadmaps. Furthermore, the proposal encourages the harmonization of air pollution measurements, the increase of sampling points in urban areas, and the periodic review of standards in order to align them with scientific progress.
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