Policies to Reduce Air Pollution
Air quality affects both health and the planet in big ways. In France, the Senate Commission of Inquiry said air pollution costs between 70 and 100 billion euros each year. From 2016 to 2019, Santé Publique France found that nearly 40,000 people age 30 and up die every year because of tiny particles in the air called PM2.5. Breathing this polluted air cuts life by about eight months for those over 30. Cleaning up the air needs strong, bold moves everywhere—from governments to local communities, businesses, and organizations—to make sure everyone can breathe easy without risking their health. The plan might take time, but its benefits will show up more and more as it sticks around. This matters most for people who want to live longer, healthier lives in cleaner places, and the sooner action happens, the better the air will get.
International and European framework for reducing air pollution
Air pollution can travel long distances. Regulatory measures are taken at the international and European levels.
European standards for concentrations of certain pollutants
At the European level, directives (2004/107 and 2008/50/EC) set the health standards to be respected. This translates into the obligation :
- to monitor air quality ;
- to inform the population of the quality of the air;
- to respect the sanitary standards fixed;
- to implement action plans in areas where health standards are exceeded so that they can be met as soon as possible.
International and European targets for reducing emissions of certain pollutants
At the international level, emission ceilings for certain pollutants are set under the Gothenburg Protocol (LRTAP), as part of the Geneva Convention. This protocol was revised in 2012 and sets emission reduction targets for certain pollutants by 2020, compared to 2005 emissions.
At the European level, Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of December 16, 2016 sets targets for reducing pollutant emissions compared to 2005 emissions for the 2020 and 2030 horizons, incorporating the objectives of the Gothenburg Protocol.
These obligations result in the requirement to implement:
- a system of national air pollutant emission inventories ;
- a national action plan to reduce air pollutant emissions.
- The objectives, set for each Member State, must make it possible to reduce premature mortality due to air pollution by 50% at the European level.
European sectoral regulations for air quality
Numerous directives and regulations concerned in particular the reduction of pollutant emissions from
- transport (road, non-road, maritime…) by regulating the quality of fuels, or emissions from engines;
- industrial activities (IED directive, BREF, combustion installations…);
- certain domestic appliances: eco-design of boilers and individual heating appliances;
- the use of certain products (directive on the use of solvents to reduce VOC emissions).
- Monitor, assess, and forecast air quality
- Monitoring air quality and knowing the emissions of pollutants makes it possible to inform citizens and decision-makers to prioritize action and inform the public. In France, air quality monitoring has been mandatory since 1996.
- National air quality monitoring system
- Several actors ensure this system.
The ministry in charge of the environment defines the regulations relating to the monitoring of atmospheric pollutants. It is responsible for coordinating the monitoring of regulated pollutants in the air.
It publishes the national air quality report every year.
The 2016 National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Plan (NAAQMP) defines the organizational, technical, and financial guidelines in this article from Entrepreneurs Break for the national air quality monitoring system over the period 2016-2021. This plan has been extended for a period of 3 years.
