Air pollution - National Responses (Italy)

The number of measures undertaken by the Italian regions to restore air quality increased during the three-year period 2004-2006. In 2004, there were 284 measures throughout the national territory, with the number rising to 341 in 2005 and to 457 in 2006. The main sectors of intervention in which the additional measures identified by the regions fall are: mobility, domestic/commercial activities, industry, agriculture. Mobility is the sector most frequently involved and these measures are concentrated in the northern regions. The specific mobility initiatives include the following types of measures: promotion and dissemination of clean vehicles in transport (public, private, freight), reinforcement of local public transport (LPT), testing of exhaust emissions from motor vehicles, traffic restriction measures, regulation of urban freight distribution, definition of urban plans (traffic, mobility, transport), structural initiatives regarding mobility, initiatives for alternative mobility, and technological support for sustainable mobility. The measures most frequently taken were in favour of alternative mobility (17 %); regarding the public vehicle fleet (16 %) and the private vehicle fleet (15 %) and structural measures involving mobility (15 %). In terms of monitoring network quality and compliance with regulatory criteria, a process of updating and revision is currently under way. The number of stations utilised under the EoI continues to grow. Together with the number of stations, the number of datasets whose time coverage is in compliance has also increased, as it is shown in Figure 4 for PM10: all these developments point to an improvement in monitoring activities and communication of information on the local and national levels.

Authors: Anna Maria Caricchia, Cristina Frizza (ISPRA)

References

EEA, Air pollution in Europe 1990-2004, EEA Report, no. 2/2007

ISPRA, Key Topics –Italian Environmental Data Yearbook 2008. Roma, 2009. http://annuario.apat.it/

M. Martuzzi, F. Mitis, I. Iavarone, M. Serinelli “Impatto sanitario di PM₁₀ e Ozono in 13 città italiane”, OMS, APAT, 2007

http://air-climate.eionet.europa.eu/databases/airbase/eoi_maps/index_html