On Tuesday 20 February, the European Union (EU) tightened its air quality standards between now and 2030, without however bringing them into line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ednews reports citing Le Monde.
With 300,000 premature deaths attributable each year to air pollution in the European Union, the EU-27 have formally set themselves a "zero pollution" target for 2050. The first step towards achieving this goal was taken on Tuesday evening, when MEPs and negotiators from the Member States agreed on stricter limits for 2030 for a number of pollutants: fine particles, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and so on.
This is "a major step towards ensuring a healthier future" by revising "obsolete standards, some of which are fifteen to twenty years old", welcomed Social Democrat MEP Javi Lopez, the text's rapporteur. Each country will have to draw up a detailed roadmap, according to the agreement, which still has to be formally confirmed by the Member States and MEPs.
