About: air quality
International alliance of cities commits to tackling air pollution
Poor air quality causes 422,000 premature deaths deaths each year in Europe and EU member states have repeatedly been singled out for exceeding pollution thresholds. At the C40 Summit on Friday (11 October), 35 cities decided to take the matter into their own hands. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Poland’s multi-billion-euro clean air quest in peril
A €25 billion clean air programme launched by the Polish government is in danger of losing EU support. Warsaw has until Friday (21 June) to prove its commitment, according to a letter sent by the European Commission and seen by EURACTIV.
Europe’s most deprived areas ‘hit hardest by air pollution’
Europe’s poorest, least educated and most jobless regions are bearing the brunt of the air pollution crisis, according to the first official stocktake of its kind. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
Europe grapples with policy patchwork to tackle air pollution
The patchwork of measures to fight air pollution currently in place across European cities is not only inefficient but sometimes counter-productive, said participants at a EURACTIV event on Tuesday (26 June).
Unhealthy buildings need political and public attention, says report
EU negotiators hope to wrap up talks on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) this week, which will significantly affect the building sector. A new report released on 28 May says buildings have a crucial but often overlooked impact on health and renovation can be beneficial to our quality of life.
Europe’s quest to overtake spectre of Dieselgate
The 2015 Dieselgate scandal might have been a blessing in disguise, propelling car emissions smack bang into the public spotlight. The EU is now making fresh attempts to bring the transport sector to heel, although there are still plenty of miles to cover.
Europe’s attempts to spark an electric vehicle revolution
Transport is one of the EU’s few sectors where emissions are actually growing. Brussels believes that electric vehicle uptake is one of the main solutions to halt this trend but what steps are being taken to decarbonise our roads?
Commission gears up against air polluters, sends six countries to court
The European Commission announced on Thursday (17 May) the launch of legal action against six member states accused of breaking air pollution limits. Three other polluters were put on notice for now.
Over 95% of world’s population breathe dangerous air, study finds
More than 95% of the world’s population breathe unsafe air and the burden is falling hardest on the poorest communities, with the gap between the most polluted and least polluted countries rising rapidly, a comprehensive study of global air pollution has found. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
France’s statues dressed in pollution masks as EU legal decision looms
Statues in a number of French cities were adorned with masks on Saturday (31 March) to highlight what activists say is a failure to tackle smog and air pollution. The European Commission will reveal next month if France is among the countries that will face legal action.
German court empowers cities to ban old diesel cars
One of Germany’s top courts has ruled that heavily polluting vehicles can be banned from the urban centres of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, a landmark ruling which could cause traffic chaos on the country’s roads and dramatically hit the value of diesel cars.
Brussels air pollution to trigger free public transport
Brussels’ regional government has approved emergency rules that will allow commuters to use public transport free of charge during periods of high air pollution, Belgian media reported on Friday (23 February).
German carmakers on tenterhooks ahead of diesel ban ruling
A court will decide on Thursday (22 February) whether German cities can ban heavily polluting cars, potentially wiping hundreds of millions of euros off the value of diesel cars on the country’s roads.
Berlin downplays smog-beating free transport idea
The German government on Wednesday (14 February) sought to play down plans to introduce free public transport, a day after the radical proposal to fight air pollution made headlines around the world.
Germany mulls free public transport to quash air pollution menace
"Car nation" Germany has surprised its European neighbours with a radical proposal to reduce road traffic by making public transport free, as Berlin scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines.
Air pollution legal action decision due in mid-March
The European Commission will decide next month whether to launch legal cases against nine member states that are accused of breaking air pollution action, after additional information was submitted at the eleventh hour.
CAP reform – what about air quality?
The third cause of death in France, air quality is particularly affected by agricultural activity. But it's an issue that is barely touched upon in the talks on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). EURACTIV.fr reports
Leaky drinking water rules tightened by EU
The European Commission revealed on Thursday (1 February) how it plans to update drinking water rules, with the goal of improving human health, reducing emissions and tackling plastic waste high on the list of priorities.
VW suspends chief lobbyist over emission tests on monkeys
Germany's scandal-hit auto giant Volkswagen on Tuesday (30 January) suspended its chief lobbyist Thomas Steg as outrage mounted over monkey and human experiments to study the effects of diesel exhaust fumes.
EU’s air pollution pariahs summoned to Brussels
Environment ministers from some of the EU’s worst air pollution offenders have been summoned to Brussels for an end-of-month meeting with the European Commission, where they will have to answer some tough questions.
Azerbaijan ready to invest in Bulgaria’s gasification
Azerbaijan, via its state energy company SOCAR, is ready to engage in Bulgaria’s gasification at its own expense. The statement was made by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of a visit by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov to the central Asian country.
Bulgaria joins Poland in court case against Commission-led crackdown on coal
Bulgaria will join Poland in an appeal against a European Commission decision to impose stricter limits on toxic pollutants coal-fired plants emit, the government said on Wednesday (10 January).
EU auditors to assess anti-pollution efforts by testing Brussels air
The European Court of Auditors is to embark on a comprehensive review of the European Union’s efforts to curb air pollution, the main environmental cause of premature deaths in the EU.