Emissions from road traffic and domestic heating emissions cited as the main cause of breaches of air quality standards across the European Union

Over the period 2014 to 2020, 944 air quality plans were submitted to the European Environmental Agency (EEA), according to the briefing ‘Managing Air Quality in Europe’

Air quality plans must be set up in member states to lower levels of air pollution in regions where EU air quality standards are exceeded for the protection of public health and ecosystems. Most of the air quality plans focus on reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10).

From 2014 to 2020, approximately 65% of all reported infringements of air quality standards were linked to heavy traffic in urban areas and proximity to major roads, mainly due to emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Road traffic was a major source of air pollution in western and northern Europe, with Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and former members UK, reporting road traffic as the only source of exceedances. In southern and eastern Europe domestic heating was a key source driving breaches of standards for PM10.

Around two thirds of steps taken to reduce emissions were concentrated on lowering emissions of NOx from transportation, 12% was targeted at domestic heating and 4% on the agricultural sector. The latter two were found to be significant sources of particulate matter.

According to the EEA report, exposure to air pollution caused a significant number of premature deaths and diseases in the EU member states in 2019; 307,000 premature deaths were caused by fine particulate matter, with 40,400 attributed to NO2.

The European Commission aims to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by PM2.5 by at least 55% compared with 2005 levels, by 2030, in its Green Deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan. The European Commission has committed to updating policies that reduce air pollution emissions at source, including those generated from road transport and buildings. The European Commission is also updating the Ambient Air Quality Directives to align EU air quality standards more closely with the World Health Organization air quality guidelines published in 2021.