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Air pollution is currently the most important environmental health risk factor in Europe. It remains an important cause of poor health and contributes in particular to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This briefing presents information for 2021 of the estimated harm to human health caused by three key air pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). This year’s assessment also presents an estimation of the health impacts associated with specific diseases to which air pollution contributes. Such impacts are expressed using burden of disease metrics, namely ‘morbidity’ (the state of having a disease or disability) and ‘mortality’ (deaths that have occurred due to a specific disease or a group of diseases).
Technical guidance to prepare national emission inventories. This joint EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook supports the reporting of air emissions data under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and the EU National Emission reduction Commitment Directive. It provides expert guidance on how to compile an atmospheric emissions inventory. The Guidebook is published by the EEA with the CLRTAP Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections responsible for the technical content of the chapters. This Technical guidebook is considered valid for the estimation of air emissions going forward in relation to Decision 2022/2 of the Executive Body of the Air Convention.
The report looks at air pollutant emissions reported by the EU under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (the Air Convention) and includes a wide range of substances. These include the five main air pollutants (NOX, NMVOCs, SO2, NH3 and PM2.5) but also others such as heavy metals, black carbon or persistent organic pollutants.
This briefing describes the progress made by the EU and its Member States towards reducing emissions of the five main air pollutants regulated under the National Emission reduction Commitments Directive. It presents an assessment of Member State performance against the emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029 as well as their progress towards achieving the more ambitious reduction commitments that will apply from 2030 onward. The briefing also presents the trends for a broader range of air pollutants and the sources of their emissions in Europe. The briefing is based on the latest available data reported by Member States in 2023 for their 2021 emissions.
Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that lead to the loss of healthy years of life and, in the worst cases, to preventable deaths. This briefing presents the status of concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in 2021 and 2022 for regulated pollutants, in relation to both EU air quality standards and the 2021 WHO guideline levels. The assessment shows that, in spite of constant improvements, exceedances of air quality standards are common across the EU, with concentrations well above the latest WHO recommendations.
While air pollution affects everyone, children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable because their bodies, organs and immune systems are still developing. Air pollution damages health during childhood and increases the risk of diseases later in life, yet children can do little to protect themselves or influence air quality policies. Until air pollution overall is reduced to safe levels, improving air quality around child-centric settings like schools and kindergartens can help reduce their exposure.
The zero pollution action plan is a cornerstone of the EU’s ambitions to improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations under the European Green Deal. It sets out the vision that by 2050, the EU should have reduced pollution to the extent that it no longer harms human health and natural ecosystems. This is translated into key 2030 targets to speed up reducing pollution at source. The European Environment Agency has produced this zero pollution monitoring assessment to assess progress towards these targets and to support the Commission in the delivery of the long-term vision of a non-toxic environment.
Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe and significantly impacts the health of the European population, particularly in urban areas. While emissions of key air pollutants and their concentrations in ambient air have fallen significantly over the past two decades in Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas.
This dataset contains the location and administrative data for Large Combustion Plants in the Energy Community participating countries, as well as more detailed data on energy input and emissions to air. These data are reported to EEA under the Energy Community Treaty. Warning: Reporting countries have only recently started to report and it is expected that data quality will increase as experience in reporting consolidates. Countries will be correcting the reported data and updates will be posted accordingly. The metadata document provides further information on this matter. Data covers 2018-2021.
Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that lead to the loss of healthy years of life and, in the most serious cases, to premature deaths. This briefing presents the status of concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in 2020 and 2021 by pollutant, in relation to both EU air quality standards and WHO guidelines. The assessment shows that exceedances of standards are common across the EU, with concentrations well above the latest WHO recommendations. Nevertheless, in 2020, lockdown measures adopted to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 impacted on emissions of air pollution from road transport and lead to improved air quality.
Air quality remains a persistent problem in Europe, continuing to harm health and ecosystems. This briefing reviews the status of air quality plans put in place by countries in situations where air pollution limits are exceeded. It also identifies the sources of air pollutants that lie behind such exceedances. The assessment covers 21 Member States of the European Union , as well as Norway and the United Kingdom . The European level assessment is complemented by case studies providing examples of measures that have led to an improvement in air quality in six European cities.
Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and has significant impacts on the health of the European population, particularly in urban areas. While emissions of key air pollutants and their concentrations in ambient air have fallen significantly over the past two decades in Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas.
European Union emission inventory report 1990-2019 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention)
This briefing presents progress made by the EU and its 27 Member States towards reducing emissions of key air pollutants regulated under EU legislation. Specifically, it assesses progress towards meeting annual maximum emission levels set for the period 2010-2019, known as 2010 emission ceilings under the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive. It also assesses the effort still needed by each Member State to reach the emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029 and for 2030 onwards under the NEC Directive. This briefing is based on 2019 data, the latest year for which data have been submitted.
This briefing presents an overview of the latest policies and measures reported by Member States to tackle air pollution, as required under the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive. It includes an analysis of synergies with the policies reported under the Regulation on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions (Monitoring Mechanism Regulation), highlighting the importance of coherence between these domains.
The Air quality in Europe report provides an annual assessment of the status and impacts of air quality and recent air quality trends. The report supports policy development and implementation in the field of air quality at both European and national levels.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on people’s lives worldwide. This briefing focuses on what we know about the short-term effects of COVID-19 on our environment, approximately six months after large parts of the world went into some degree of lockdown. It considers what can be learnt from these effects and how they might help shape decision-making in the future.
What is pollution? Where does it come from? How does pollution affect the environment and how does it affect people’s health? How can Europe move towards zero pollution, in line with the ambition of the European Green Deal? EEA Signals 2020 looks at pollution through different lenses related to the Agency’s work and EU legislation.
A significant proportion of the burden of disease in Europe continues to be attributed to environmental pollution resulting from human activity. This report highlights how the quality of Europe’s environment plays a key role in determining our health and well-being.
Under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/publications/publications_topic or scan the QR code.
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