For cleaner air: Europe’s new anti-pollution measures, which must also be the responsibility of business

Air quality indices should be comparable in all Member States and this should be a commitment of both national policies and industry and business. This is what the MEPs decided in their last plenary session in Strasbourg before the European elections in June.

The revised air quality law aims to reduce air pollution in the EU for a clean and healthy environment and to achieve the EU’s vision of zero air pollution by 2050.

Parliament adopted a preliminary political agreement with EU countries on new measures to improve air quality in the EU so that it is no longer harmful to human health, natural ecosystems and biodiversity, by 381 votes to 225 and 17 “abstained”.

The new rules set stricter 2030 limit values ​​and target values ​​for pollutants with a serious impact on human health, including particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Member States can request that the 2030 deadline be delayed by up to ten years if specific conditions are met.

If the new national rules are broken, those affected by air pollution will be able to take legal action, and citizens can receive compensation if their health has been damaged.

More air quality sampling points will be set up in cities and the currently fragmented air quality indices across the EU will become comparable, clear and publicly available.

By updating air quality standards, some of which were established almost two decades ago, pollution across the EU will be halved, paving the way to a healthier and more sustainable future, the Bulgarian MEPs also emphasize.

The law must also be approved by the Council before it is published in Official Journal of the EU and take effect 20 days later. EU countries will then have two years to implement the new rules.

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