Commission is proposing stronger rules on ambient air, surface and groundwater pollutants, and treatment of urban wastewater. New rules will reduce deaths resulting from levels of the main pollutant PM_2.5 above World Health Organization guidelines by more than 75% in ten years.

Learning the lessons from current laws, the Commission proposes to both tighten allowed levels of pollutants and to improve its implementation to ensure pollution reduction goals are more often reached in practice. Today’s proposals are a key advance for the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition of having an environment free of harmful pollution by 2050.

The proposed revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directives will set interim 2030 EU air quality standards, aligned more closely with World Health Organization guidelines, while putting the EU on a trajectory to achieve zero pollution for air at the latest by 2050, in synergy with climate-neutrality efforts.

Today’s proposal will help achieve dramatic improvement in air quality around Europe by 2030, leading to gross annual benefits estimated at €42 billion up to €121 billion in 2030, for less than a €6 billion costs annually. The benefits also extend to the environment or the health of Europeans, as air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to health and one of the main causes of chronic disease.

Source: European Green Deal: Commission proposes rules for cleaner air and water