The EU Council gave the formal go-ahead Monday to a directive setting updated air quality standards across the Europe, contributing to the EU’s objective of zero pollution by the year 2050.
Around 300,000 premature deaths in Europe every year are due to air pollution, which is the biggest environmental health risk in Europe, according to the EU Commission.
The new rules will contribute to an EU objective on zero pollution by 2050 and help prevent many premature deaths. EU citizens will also be able to seek compensation for damage to their health in cases where EU air quality rules are not respected.
The revised directive prioritises the health of EU citizens: it sets new air quality standards for pollutants to be reached by 2030 which are more closely aligned with the WHO air quality guidelines. Those pollutants include, among others, particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, all known to cause respiratory problems. Member states may request that the 2030 deadline be postponed if specific conditions are met.
Air quality is assessed using common methods and criteria across the EU, and the revised directive brings further improvements to air quality monitoring and modelling.
The revised directive also ensures early action, with air quality roadmaps that need to be prepared ahead of 2030 if there is a risk that the new standards will not be attained by that date.
The air quality standards has to be reviewed regularly in line with latest scientific evidence to assess whether they continue to be appropriate.
The new directive ensures fair and equitable access to justice for those affected or likely to be affected by the implementation of the directive. Member states need to ensure that citizens have the right to claim and obtain compensation when their health has been damaged due to a violation of air quality rules set in the directive.
