Challenges for achieving clean air — lessons from ten European cities

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is working in partnership with a number of European cities to better understand the challenges of implementing air quality legislation, in order to protect the health of its citizens and the environment.

A new report from the EEA summarises key findings on the cities’ progress over the past five years and highlights on-going challenges for improving air quality at a local level.

The EEA produced the new report in cooperation with 10 of 12 cities involved in a 2013 air implementation pilot project, these being Antwerp, Berlin, Dublin, Madrid, Malmo, Milan, Paris, Plovdiv, Prague and Vienna.

The report highlights the progress made and the remaining challenges that cities still have to overcome.

Another EEA report, 'Air quality in Europe (2018)' shows that, while strong policies and local actions have helped decrease levels of pollution in Europe’s cities over the past decades, most Europeans living in urban areas still suffer from pollutant levels that are above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for the protection of health.

Source: EEA, 18 March 2019