Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

EU air quality improves, but pollution levels still high

  • Some 74 percent of the EU's urban population is exposed to dangerous concentrations of particulate matter (Photo: Skaja Lee)

The last decade has seen air-quality improvements across the continent, but many European citizens are still exposed to illegal and dangerous levels of pollution, according to data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday (23 November).

Air pollution is currently the biggest environmental risk to human health in the EU, with 379,000 premature deaths attributed to exposure to particulate matter, 54,000 to nitrogen dioxide and 19,000 to ground-level ozone in 2018.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

But, in a small sign of progress, the number of premature deaths linked to exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen oxide (both resulting from road traffic and other fossil fuel combustion processes) was respectively 13 percent and 34 percent lower than in 2009.

Between 2009 and 2018, sulphur dioxide emissions resulting from fossil-fuel-based energy production also decreased by 79 percent, while ammonia emissions from fertilisers and livestock manure in the agriculture sector were cut by 10 percent.

"It is good news that air quality is improving. But we can't ignore the downside - the number of premature deaths in Europe due to air pollution is still far too high," the EU commissioner for environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said on Monday.

The EEA report found 74 percent of the EU's urban population is exposed to concentrations of particulate matter above the level established by the World Health Organization's guidance for breathable air. So far, only Estonia, Finland, Iceland and Ireland have stayed below the limits.

Additionally, the EEA executive director Hans Bruyninckx warned about the increase of concentrations of ground ozone emissions since 2013, and its impact on health, as a "problem that requires policy attention".

"[The concentration of] ground-level ozone is concerning as there is a close link with climate change and urban heating effects which, of course, have an immediate impact on the health condition of the most vulnerable during the summer months," Bruyninckx told a press conference.

Covid-19 link still unclear

Meanwhile, the coronavirus lockdowns introduced by almost all member states in the spring led to significant reductions in air pollution - particularly from road transport, aviation and international shipping.

But differences were found within cities and across countries.

In April, for instance, concentrations of nitrogen dioxide fell by 70 percent in Spain and Italy, where lockdowns were more severe.

The EU agency is also studying how air pollution influences the transmission of coronavirus and human vulnerability, but it said that further work is required to assess the full situation.

Earlier this year, the commission concluded that a majority of member states were not on target to deliver on their air pollution reduction commitments for 2020 and 2030.

There are currently 31 ongoing infringement procedures against 18 member states for failing to implement EU air quality rules at national level, and last month the EU's top court ruled that Italy has been flouting rules on air pollution for a decade.

Under EU rules, every EU country had to put forward plans to tackle air pollution in 2018. However, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg and Romania have yet to submit any strategy.

Next year, the commission is expected to adopt an action plan, as part of the Green Deal, focus on reducing air, water and soil levels of pollution.

EU aims at 'zero pollution' in air, water and soil by 2050

The European Commission unveiled a plan to reduce pollution to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems by 2050 - including reducing the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55 percent.

Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access

70 percent of northern Gaza is facing famine, new data shows. There is one shower per 5,500 people, and 888 people per toilet. 'How can you live in these conditions?" asked Natalie Boucly of UNRWA at the European Humanitarian Forum.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us