Compensation for poor air quality

On October 14, 2024, the European Council adopted a directive establishing updated air quality standards across the European Union (EU) while agreeing to tighten existing EU air quality standards. The solutions proposed in the legislation are intended to contribute to achieving zero emissions by 2050 and to prevent premature deaths caused by poor air quality.

In addition, according to the adopted proposals, European Union (EU) citizens will be able to seek compensation for damage to their health when requirements and standards relating to air quality are not met. Thus, the new directive is intended to ensure fair and equal access to justice for those affected or likely to be affected by its implementation.

Air pollution in the EU

The European Commission points out that air pollution is the biggest threat to environmental health in Europe. As the explanatory memorandum to the proposal for the new directive indicates, each year some 300,000 premature deaths in Europe and a significant number of non-communicable diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer are caused by air pollution.

In addition, the proposal for the new directive points out that air pollution threatens the environment by causing acidification, or eutrophication of waters, destroys the ozone layer, and thus causes damage to forests, ecosystems and crops. Eutrophication caused by nitrogen deposition affects biodiversity and the quality of waters, often a source of drinking water.

Air quality standards in the EU

In the EU, air quality is assessed using uniform methods and criteria. The revised directive introduces further improvements in air quality monitoring and modeling. In addition, air quality standards are to be regularly reviewed in accordance with the latest scientific evidence to assess whether they remain appropriate and relevant to needs and knowledge.

The EU has an air quality monitoring network of about 16,000 measurement points, where pollutants are measured on the basis of common criteria defined in the existing air quality directives. The existing air quality directives set EU air quality standards for 12 air pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide/oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (_PM10PM2.5), ozone, benzene, lead, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene.

As part of the new directive, additional measurement points have been introduced to collect data on new air pollutants such as ultrafine particles, soot (BC), ammonia (_NH3) or particulate oxidation potential to promote scientific understanding of their health and environmental impacts.

Review of air quality directives

October 26, 2022. The European Commission has proposed revising the air quality directives. The aim of the proposal was to bring air quality standards in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (see WHO Air Quality Guidelines). In addition, the revision made the following assumptions:

• The EU is on track to achieve zero air pollution by 2050.
• regular review of air quality standards is envisaged, in accordance with the latest scientific evidence
• Further improve the legal framework
• Support local authorities in achieving cleaner air by strengthening monitoring, modeling and air protection plans
• Providing greater clarity on access to justice, redress of grievances, effective penalties and better public information on air quality.

On February 20, 2024, the Council Presidency and representatives of the European Parliament reached an interim political agreement on a proposal to set EU air quality standards. Subsequently, on October 14, 2024, the European Council adopted a directive combining the existing two directives into one to update air quality standards across the European Union.

New air quality directive

The new directive identifies the health of EU citizens as a priority, setting new air quality standards for pollutants to be achieved by 2030, which are in line with World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines.

Pollutants causing respiratory problems identified in the directive include _PM10 and PM2_.5, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Therefore, the annual limit values for pollutants with the greatest documented impact on human health, i.e. PM2_.5 and _NO2, have been reduced from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³ and from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³, respectively. The directive ensures fair and equal access to justice for those affected by its implementation, and in fact the lack of effective implementation.

Member states will be required to ensure that citizens have the right to seek and receive compensation when their health has been affected by violations of air quality regulations.

When the new regulations will come into force

The text of the directive will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force on the 20th day after its publication. Member states will then have two years from the date the directive enters into force to transpose it into national law. Meanwhile, by 2030. The European Commission is to review the air quality standards. Subsequent reviews will be made on the basis of the latest scientific evidence after 2030 every five years.

The directive also gives some derogations – postponing the deadline for achieving air quality limit values. In order to request a derogation, member states will have to include air quality forecasts in their air quality action plans (to be established by 2028), demonstrating that the exceedance will be kept as short as possible and the limit will be reached by the end of the derogation period at the latest.

The legal basis for EU action on air quality is provided by Articles 191 and 192 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the environment. Under these articles, the EU is authorized to act to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, protect human health and promote measures at international level to deal with regional or global environmental problems.

For more information, visit the European Commission website.