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WEB REPORT
The ‘Air quality in Europe’ report series from the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents annual assessments of air pollutant emissions and concentrations in ambient air across Europe, as well as associated impacts on health and the environment. The annual assessments are primarily based on official data reported to the EEA by European countries.
Chapters of the Air quality in Europe 2022 report:
In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) published new air quality guidelines following a systematic review of the latest scientific evidence demonstrating how air pollution damages human health. The European Union (EU) has also set standards for key air pollutants in the ambient air quality directives. In the European Green Deal, the European Commission committed to further improving air quality and to aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the WHO recommendations. This commitment was echoed in the zero pollution action plan, which set a vision for 2050 to reduce air, water and soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. In addition, the zero pollution action plan introduced targets for 2030, two of which focus on air and aim to:
Stricter air quality standards would also contribute to the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Air pollution is a known cause of cancer in Europe; in particular, lung cancer (EEA, 2022).
European Commission proposes new rules for cleaner air
In October 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directive. Key measures are listed below.
The above measures are aligned with other legislative proposals, such as the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive and recent proposals on Euro 7 emission standards for road vehicles, which will support the achievement of stricter air quality standards.
This report analyses the status of concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in 2020 and 2021 — presented by pollutant and related to both EU air quality standards and the 2021 WHO guideline levels. It presents the health impacts of exposure to key air pollutants, both in terms of mortality (for 2020) and morbidity (for 2019), and assesses progress towards the health-related objectives of the EU’s zero pollution action plan. The impact of air pollution on ecosystems is also considered. This includes an assessment of progress towards the zero pollution action plan target to reduce the share of ecosystems damaged by air pollution, as well as a review of the impact of ozone on agricultural production. Finally, it presents the status of emissions of key air pollutants regulated in the EU and assesses emissions trends over the period 2005 to 2020.
This report is based on a range of background material produced by the European Topic Centre on human health and the environment (ETC/HE). References and links to online reports are provided in each chapter.
The country assessments are the sole responsibility of the EEA member and cooperating countries supported by the EEA through guidance, translation and editing.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2022/air-quality-in-europe-2022 or scan the QR code.
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