European Parliament Adopts Revised Law to Improve Air Quality in the EU
On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament took a major step forward to deal with the key environmental and health challenges of air pollution, adopting the revised provisional political agreement with EU Member States on new measures to improve air quality in the EU.
Air Pollution and Sustainable Development Goals
Air pollution remains a major environmental cause of preventable deaths in the EU, despite the significant progress made in recent years, with around 300,000 premature deaths per year. This issue is directly related to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 15: Life on Land
Revised Measures to Improve Air Quality
In October 2022, the EU Commission proposed a revision of the air quality Directives with more ambitious targets for 2030, better aligned with the World Health Organization guidelines, to achieve the zero-pollution objective by 2050 in line with the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
The revised Ambient Air Quality Directives set new standards (limit and target values, alert and information thresholds, long-term objectives, and others…) that are more stringent than in the previous text and more adapted to the human health and environment protection levels that should be attained by the 1 January 2030. The new regulations provide basic principles of the relevant scientific framework needed for the implementation of monitoring tools that provide accurate, reliable, and comparable information about air quality in the Member States.
In the case that limit values are exceeded or likely not to be attained within the expected timeline, the Member States should establish air quality plans and air quality roadmaps.
Role of Modelling Applications and CAMS
It is noteworthy that the new Directive accounts for the most recent developments in air pollution sciences, especially in atmospheric chemistry modelling. Thus, modelling applications are explicitly acknowledged as valuable means to support the interpretation of the geographical distribution and the assessment of air pollutant concentrations, for analysing the main drivers of air pollution episodes (emission sources, geographical and meteorological situations, transboundary fluxes), and for the optimisation of monitoring networks. In this context, the role of CAMS is mentioned explicitly in the text for the provision of relevant tools and expertise:
“Where applicable, modelling applications should be applied to enable point data to be interpreted in terms of geographical distribution of concentration of pollutants, which can help to detect breaches of air quality standards, and to inform air quality plans and air quality roadmaps and the placement of sampling points. In addition to the requirements for air quality monitoring laid down in this Directive, for monitoring purposes, Member States are encouraged to exploit information products and supplementary tools, such as by regular evaluation and quality assessment reports or policy online applications, provided by the Earth Observation component of the Union Space Programme, in particular the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.”
CAMS Director Laurence Rouil said: “This is an important moment for CAMS, that shows that we have reached maturity as an operational service. CAMS is fully ready to support those Member States who request it in their evaluation and quality assessment activities in the application of the AAQD. We are continually in contact with our users, through the National Collaboration Programme, specialised workshops, and through our support channels to ensure that the products we offer meet their needs.”
CAMS Products and Services
CAMS delivers operational data and products suited and designed for supporting the implementation of the AAQD. Dedicated policy support services are available on the CAMS website. For example:
- Annual air quality assessment reports and air pollution episode reports that describe the evolution since 2015 of background air pollution levels1 and patterns in Europe;
- Particulate matter (PM), ozone, nitrogen dioxide and other air pollutants are forecast at the European and Global scales. Dusts and sea salts (natural sources) are differentiated in CAMS PM products since information about their contribution when PM concentration levels exceed the limit value can be reported by the Member States;
- Online tools that help in analysing the role played by various sources in PM and ozone levels monitored in more than 70 major European cities. Contributions of local (in the city) versus transboundary sources, or the influence of various anthropogenic sources (industry, road transport, shipping, residential heating, agriculture) can be forecast.
About CAMS
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service is supported by a unique integrated approach taking stock of a large panel of observation datasets (in-situ monitoring networks and Earth observations) and of the most up-to-date global and European chemistry transport models that simulate the fate and the transformation of atmospheric pollutants.
Like all the Copernicus services, CAMS evolves following the users’ needs and requirements. The CAMS National Collaboration Programme was implemented to facilitate uptake of CAMS products by policy users. The programme aims at fostering and facilitating the use of CAMS data and products by national experts in the Member States. The topics of the programme depend on the Member State’s priorities, such as direct use of CAMS data or downscaling products dedicated to air quality assessment and forecasting, emissions inventories, or optimization of the in-situ monitoring network.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, implemented by ECMWF on behalf of the European Commission provides global and European air quality and atmospheric composition forecasts and analysis data, based on state-of-the-art models.
The global atmospheric composition forecasts and analyses are
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 15: Life on Land
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
- SDG 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
- SDG 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
- SDG 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
Yes, there are indicators mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These include:
- Number of premature deaths per year due to air pollution (indicator for SDG 3.9)
- Air quality standards and limit values (indicator for SDG 11.6)
- Integration of climate change measures into air quality regulations and policies (indicator for SDG 13.2)
- Conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems affected by air pollution (indicator for SDG 15.1)
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination. | Number of premature deaths per year due to air pollution. |
| SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. | Air quality standards and limit values. |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. | Integration of climate change measures into air quality regulations and policies. |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services. | Conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems affected by air pollution. |
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Fuente: atmosphere.copernicus.eu
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