New Clean Air Standards for Europe: Implications for Cities
This paper discusses the implications of the European Union’s revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) for attaining cleaner air in urban areas, with a focus on France, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Spain. Nearly half of the cities analysed (181 of 394) did not meet the 2030 standards for PM2.5 in 2024. It explores what would have to change across levels of government, including multi-level governance and cross-jurisdictional cooperation, for Europe’s cities to meet the 2030 standards.
Air pollution remains Europe’s number one environmental health risk, contributing to 182,000 deaths from fine particles alone in 2023 alone. Acting to reduce air pollution is an economic imperative: 30% of productivity gains in Europe between 2010 and 2019 can be attributed to air quality improvements. In 2024, the European Union (EU) revised its Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) to strengthen air quality standards. All but 4 EU Member States will need to further reduce at least one major air pollutant by 2030 to comply, and success will depend on action in and for cities.
Cities sit at the centre of both the problem and the solution to polluted air. Urban populations are the most exposed to air pollution, while some of the most effective measures to tackle the problem can be implemented locally. However, these measures do not stop air pollution that arrives from elsewhere, and on average, two thirds of the smallest, most dangerous particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) measured in cities is produced outside their boundaries.
Nearly half of cities we analyzed (181 of 394) did not meet the 2030 standards in 2024, and it is not clear how prepared local authorities are to respond to these new standards. Many cities will therefore need to go further in tackling currently under-addressed sources of pollution, as well as air pollution from outside their political jurisdictions.
This paper explores what would have to change across levels of government for Europe’s cities to meet the 2030 standards, with a focus on France, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Spain. It draws on European Environment Agency air pollution monitoring data, a literature review and 17 interviews with experts and officials across those countries and at EU level. It suggests considerations for pursuing the cross-sector, multi-level coordination and systemic structural changes needed to meet standards, protect health, and boost economic productivity.
Key Findings:
- Nearly half of the European cities analysed (181 of 394) did not meet the incoming 2030 standards for PM2.5 in 2024.
- Many of the necessary measures to implement are partly or fully the responsibility of local authorities.
- To better understand what actions they need to take and when, local authorities should have access to localized scenario-based modeling, which does not currently appear to be widely available.
- Meeting the new standards will also require additional cross-jurisdictional and cross-sector cooperation, effective multilevel governance, and intensified efforts to reduce historically under addressed sources of pollution, including taking demand-side action in key sectors. Examples include ammonia from agriculture, which contributes to PM2.5 formation in urban areas, and non-exhaust emissions from cars and other road vehicles, such as tyre and brake wear.
- EU members will also need to further embed air quality outcomes across financial and sectoral policies at all tiers of government in ways that focus on the root causes of pollution.
- This would move clean air from a narrow environmental compliance issue to a positive outcome designed into the agricultural, transport, energy, and built environment systems so that they pollute less.
