The European Commission is launching an open public consultation on the review of EU air quality standards, a focal point of the European Green Deal. This review aims to align EU air quality standards more closely with the new World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations published yesterday and to strengthen provisions on air quality monitoring, modelling and plans to help local authorities achieve clean air. Every year, 400000 people in the EU die prematurely as a result of air pollution. The health and economic costs of air pollution caused by the loss of working days, health care, crop losses and damage to buildings cost the EU from 330 to 940 billion euros per year.
The updated WHO Air Quality Guidelines - a key element to support the Commission’s considerations on the desired level of ambition - set pollution levels that are significantly lower than now, especially for air pollutants with the greatest impact on health in Europe. By striving to achieve these leading levels, countries will protect health and mitigate global climate change. A briefing by the European Environment Agency on the state of air quality in Europe published this week showed that air pollution is still too high in most EU Member States. The public consultation launched today follows the publication of the initial impact assessment and an assessment of the current legislation since 2019. The consultation is open to feedback for 12 weeks until 16 December 2021.