The EU lowers toxic air limits, but still falls short of WHO guidelines

The European Union has agreed to set stricter limits on the toxic particles and dangerous gases polluting the air, but will not aim for the levels doctors and economists recommend.

The new rules reduce annual limits for fine particles known as PM2.5 – which wreak havoc on the entire body because they are small enough to enter the bloodstream – from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³, and for nitrogen dioxide, a gas that damages the lungs, from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³.

But the 2030 targets still allow for twice as much pollution as the World Health Organization’s guideline values.

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said the upgrade put Europe on track to make air pollution a problem of the past. “Air pollution is still the biggest environmental health problem in the EU. The good news is that clean air policies are working and our air quality is improving.”

The law, which must be formally adopted before coming into force, has been watered down and contains loopholes that could allow member states to delay meeting targets by up to 10 years. Governments can delay the 2030 deadline by five to seven years if forecasts show that the limits cannot be met on time, the commission said, and by ten years in areas with difficult geography or where targets can only be met with ‘ significant impact on domestic heating systems.

But the law also gives citizens the right to compensation when governments do not follow the measures and therefore harm their health. It also calls for air quality plans for countries that exceed the limits, and roadmaps for all member states setting out how they will meet the 2030 targets.

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, an environmental epidemiologist at ISGlobal, a health research institute in Barcelona, ​​said the WHO guidelines would “ideally” have been adopted without delay, but that the deal would still cause some people to die prematurely.

“All in all, I think this is a big step forward for people’s health. It is a unique opportunity to improve air quality.”

Bad air is one of the biggest causes of death in Europe. In addition to the human cost of lives lost and people living with disabilities, air pollution hurts economies by forcing workers to take more sick days and forcing governments to spend more money on hospital beds.

An impact assessment by the European Commission that looked at three scenarios found that full compliance with WHO guidelines by 2030 would deliver the greatest net economic benefit, saving the EU €38 billion (£32 billion) a year. Member states fought attempts to fully join the WHO and introduced loopholes to delay even the weaker limits.

On Wednesday, public health experts called on the EU to quickly translate the agreement into law, and on national governments and cities to adopt policies to comply with the new limits.

“EU air quality standards urgently need to be updated,” said Christiaan Keijzer, chairman of the standing committee of European doctors. He said: “Doctors across Europe agree that we need better air quality, and public authorities and national governments must take action to help reduce the burden of disease.”

Air pollution hits vulnerable groups the hardest – such as children, the elderly and people with underlying illnesses. Poorer people also tend to live closer to factories and highways, further away from parks and public transportation, and in poorer quality homes heated with dirtier fuels.

A Guardian survey in September found that 98% of Europeans were breathing air dirty enough to exceed WHO limits, with people in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Italy breathing in the most polluted substances.

Milka Sokolovic, the director general of the European Public Health Alliance, said an ambitious air quality directive was a “critical” part of tackling health inequalities across Europe and “a piece of legislation that ensures that everyone in Europe, especially those in vulnerable and marginalized communities, breathe clean air.”