Highlights

Every breath we take – Signals 2013 focuses on air quality in Europe

Iben Stanhardt — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0200

Poor air quality can have serious impacts on our health and the environment. How is Europe’s air quality? What are the main sources of air pollutants? How do they affect our health and the environment? What does Europe do to improve air quality? The new edition of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) Signals takes a closer look.

Air pollution: breaches of legal limits continued through 2010 and 2011

Arthur Girling — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:55:00 +0100

Air pollutant emissions were above legal limits in eight Member States in 2011, preliminary data shows. In 2010, 12 Member States exceeded these limits, according to final official data reported under the European Union’s National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive.

International shipping should cut air pollutants and greenhouse gases together

Arthur Girling — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:55:00 +0100

Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from the shipping sector have increased substantially in the last two decades, contributing to both climate change and air pollution problems, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Reducing the € 45 billion health cost of air pollution from lorries

Arthur Girling — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:05:00 +0100

Road charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs or lorries) should reflect the varied health effects of traffic pollution in different European countries. This means charges should be much higher in some countries compared to others, according to analysis from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Fewer summer ozone peaks in 2012, but levels still harmful

Arthur Girling — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0100

Ozone pollution still exceeded target levels in Europe during summer 2012, but the number of exceedances of the alert threshold was lower than in any year since monitoring started in 1997. However, almost all EU Member States failed to keep levels of the pollutant within targets set to protect human health.

2013: Kicking off the ‘Year of Air’

Iben Stanhardt — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:55:00 +0100

Clean air will be the focus of EU environmental policy discussions throughout 2013, the Year of Air. The European Environment Agency (EEA) provides a wealth of information underpinning the review of air pollutant legislation.

Europe using less ozone-damaging chemicals

Arthur Girling — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:55:00 +0100

Europe has made significant progress in phasing out chemicals which damage the ozone layer, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report considers production and use of more than 200 chemicals which damage the planet’s ozone layer, which are controlled by the Montreal Protocol and EU legislation.

Traffic pollution still harmful to health in many parts of Europe

Arthur Girling — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:05:00 +0100

Transport in Europe is responsible for damaging levels of air pollutants and a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the resulting environmental problems can be addressed by stepping up efforts to meet new EU targets, according to the latest report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Europe's air story told in pictures

Arthur Girling — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:55:00 +0100

Air is a tricky subject to photograph, but this challenge has proved to be a source of inspiration for the winners of photo storycompetition ‘ImaginAIR’, organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Europe still playing catch-up on air pollution, despite reduction successes

Arthur Girling — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0200

The European Union appears to have met several objectives to reduce the impacts of air pollution, according to the original scientific understanding used to set the objectives. But when using the improved scientific understanding of air pollution now available, it becomes clear that emissions need to be even further reduced to protect health and the environment.

Many Europeans still exposed to harmful air pollutants

Arthur Girling — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:00:00 +0200

Almost a third of Europe's city dwellers are exposed to excessive concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM), one of the most important pollutants in terms of harm to human health as it penetrates sensitive parts of the respiratory system. The EU has made progress over the past decades to reduce the air pollutants which cause acidification, but a new report published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that many parts of Europe have persistent problems with outdoor concentrations of PM and ground level ozone.

Capture the invisible for the EEA photo story competition

Arthur Girling — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0200

The air we breathe may not be the most photogenic subject, but depicting an odourless, colourless gas is the challenge set out by ImaginAIR, a new competition created by the European Environment Agency (EEA) which invites participants to tell a story about Europe's air in three pictures.

Avoiding harmful ozone pollution this summer

Iben Stanhardt — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:30:00 +0200

High summer temperatures combined with air pollution can cause ground-level ozone to form, which has serious effects on health, especially for older people or children, or those with asthma and other breathing problems. The European Environment Agency (EEA) presents some useful information on protecting your health from ground-level ozone this summer.

Eleven Member States exceed air emissions limits under LRTAP Convention

Flavio Fergnani — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0200

Emissions of most air pollutants have fallen over the last two decades in Europe. But many Member States have exceeded internationally-agreed pollutant limits set to protect human health and the environment, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Road transport, households, power plants, agricultural activities and certain industry sectors continue to emit significant amounts of air pollution.

Sahara dust, sea spray and fires contribute to bad air quality

Arthur Girling — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0200

Human activities are the main cause of poor air quality, but natural sources of air pollution also play a role. A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) considers how particulate matter from these natural sources affects the air we breathe.