ECO Feedback to the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive

The European Cancer Organisation (ECO) has responded to the European Commission’s invitation for feedback on proposal on a new Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. As promised within Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the European Commission is progressing a pledge to revise the EU’s air quality standards, to align them more closely with the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

In line both previous representations of the European Cancer Organisation, and in consultation with member societies such as the European Respiratory Society, the following key feedback was provided:

ECO considers the introduction of the 2030 air quality targets to be an important step, in particular to reduce the health impacts of air pollution. However ECO:

• Calls for the directive to have a full alignment of EU air quality standards with the WHO Air Pollution Guidelines 2021;
  
  
• Encourages greater ambition to go beyond 'minimum requirements' in both EU and Member State efforts and set ambitious targets to meet EU air pollution objectives and in particular to align with, and outperform, WHO guidelines;
  
  
• Requests additional studies and analysis to be conducted to better understand the effects of citizen exposure to lower levels of air pollution .

Our full response is available here.