The Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution

On 21 September the European Commission adopted the thematic strategy on air pollution – a long-term plan on how to reduce air pollution in the EU in the next 15 years. The Strategy is accompanied by a directive proposal on air quality, which will revise existing air quality legislation and combine several directives into one. This is the first of the seven Thematic Strategies that the EU executive is obliged to develop for the most persisting environmental problems in the European Union.

The Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution sets the goals for further reduction of the five most serious air pollutants, which are responsible for health and ecosystem damage in the EU. According to the Strategy, by 2020 emissions of sulphur dioxide would need to decrease by 82%, nitrogen oxide emissions by 60%, volatile organic compounds by 51%, ammonia by 27% and fine particulate matter by 59%, compared to their levels in the year 2000.

The EEB has criticised the Strategy for not beeing ambitious enough, for not showing how the EU's long-term objectives on air pollution can be met and for not coming forward with additional legislative proposals to reduce air pollution in the EU.