Air quality is one of the most crucial environmental factors for human health and ecosystem balance. Emissions of air pollutants have decreased over the past two decades, resulting in improved air quality. Between 2005 and 2022, the number of deaths in the EU attributable to PM2.5 fell by 45%, bringing the European Union closer to achieving the 55% reduction target set by the Zero pollution Action Plan for 2030. Despite this improvement, air pollution remains the leading environmental risk to health in Europe, with millions of citizens exposed to levels of PM2.5, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide above the thresholds recommended by the World Health Organization. For this reason, the European Union has played a central role for years in defining common policies aimed at reducing emissions and protecting the population. In this article we analyze the European regulatory framework, the most recent updates to air quality directives, and the practical implications for Member States, businesses, and citizens.
The European regulatory framework on air quality
Since the 1980s, the European Union has introduced increasingly strict policies to protect air quality. EU directives set reference values for twelve major air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO, NO₂, O₃, CO, Benzo(a)pyrene, SO₂, Pb, As, Cd, and Ni) and establish common procedures for monitoring, assessing, and communicating air quality data to the public. The European Commission has recently revised the ambient air quality directives, strengthening existing policies and aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the latest scientific evidence and WHO guidelines. The new Directive EU 2024/2881 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe entered into force on December 10, 2024, and represents the most up-to-date reference text, replacing the previous directives on ambient air quality (2004/107/CE and 2008/50/CE).
The most recent updates to European directives
The revision of the European ambient air quality directives, started in 2022 and ended in 2024, is part of the European Green Deal strategy and aims to achieve the “zero pollution by 2050” goal. The directive sets limit values, target values, obligations to reduce average exposure, exposure concentration objectives, critical levels, alert thresholds, information thresholds, and long-term objectives. The main innovations introduced by Directive EU 2024/2881 are:
- Significant reduction of the limit threshold for PM2.5 (more than halved compared to previous standards)
- Updated air quality standards for permitted levels of major pollutants
- Definition of common methods and criteria for assessing ambient air quality in Member States
- Introduction of monitoring for emerging pollutants such as ultrafine particles, black carbon, elemental carbon, ammonia, and particulate matter oxidative potential, both in rural and urban background areas, in line with WHO recommendations to improve understanding of their effects on health and the environment
- Obligations for periodic review of air quality thresholds, in line with the latest scientific evidence and social and technological developments
Impacts and obligations for member states and industries
The European zero pollution strategy outlines a vision for 2050 in which air pollution is reduced to levels no longer harmful to human health and ecosystems, through a gradual process of updating air quality standards. While implementing the required actions, both at national and European level, institutions and Member States are required to apply fundamental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of preventive action, the principle of damage correction at source, and the “polluter pays” principle. Added to these are the “do no harm” principle of the European Green Deal and the recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
Requirements and national plans
Member States must implement the new directive by December 11, 2026, adopting all necessary legislative, regulatory, and administrative measures. In addition to monitoring obligations, the directive introduces new operational and strategic commitments: when levels exceed limit or target values, Member States must prepare an air quality plan or program identifying the responsible sources and ensuring compliance with the rules. Member States must meet strict reporting obligations to the Commission, guarantee the right to compensation for citizens suffering health damage due to violations, define effective and proportionate sanctioning regimes, and ensure clear and timely public information. For consistent and comparable assessments across the Union, the directive requires standardized measurement techniques, common criteria for locating sampling points, and territorial classification based on population density and ecosystem exposure. Since many pollutants, such as ozone and particulate matter, are transboundary in nature, Member States must cooperate to identify emission sources and coordinate air quality plans.
Responsibilities of national and local authorities
Competent authorities, designated at national and local levels, will have extended responsibilities: ensuring the proper functioning of monitoring networks, approving measurement systems, guaranteeing data accuracy, promoting the reliability of assessment models, coordinating European quality assurance programs, collaborating with other Member States and the Commission, developing air quality plans and roadmaps, preparing short-term action plans, and keeping air quality indices and public information up to date.
Role of companies and impacts for Italy
Companies and industries will also be required to play a significant role, through the adoption of cleaner technologies, emission reductions, and compliance with stricter standards and more frequent controls. For Italy, which has faced numerous infringement procedures over particulate and NO₂ limit exceedances, the new directive will mean strengthening regional remediation plans, improving monitoring networks, and committing more decisively to emission reductions in critical sectors.
Authorities involved in air quality control and monitoring
The European air quality monitoring system is based on a coordinated network of bodies and institutions operating at different levels:
- European Commission: supervises the implementation of EU directives, ensuring compliance and uniform application of rules in Member States.
- European Environment Agency (EEA): supports EU environmental policies through data collection and analysis, indicators, and assessments, including the annual air quality report and zero pollution monitoring assessment.
- National and regional agencies: in Italy, ISPRA and ARPA play a central role in local monitoring, managing detection stations and validating collected data.
With the new directive, Member States are required to strengthen their monitoring networks, expanding the number and type of detection stations. The directive specifically calls for the establishment of so-called supersites, advanced stations located in strategic points capable of measuring not only traditional pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO₂) but also ultrafine particles, black carbon, and other emerging compounds. Alongside standard monitoring methods, the regulation encourages the use of dispersion models and integrated assessment techniques, combining data from different sources to provide a more complete picture of pollutant distribution. Technologies used include next-generation sensors, automatic detection networks, and atmospheric dispersion models. In this context, specialized organizations such as PM_TEN can provide advanced expertise in modeling and environmental analysis, offering valuable technical support for monitoring activities.
Air quality, a health issue
European policies therefore aim to reduce pollution by 2050 to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, respecting the limits within which our planet can sustain such pressures, thus creating an environment free of toxic substances. This vision is already reflected in concrete objectives set for 2030, designed to accelerate pollution reduction at the source. Specifically, regarding air quality, the European Union aims to reduce premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55% and decrease by 25% the share of ecosystems threatened by air pollution, marking a decisive step toward a healthier and more sustainable future.
Transparency and access to air quality data
To ensure transparency and inform citizens, several platforms at the European level provide access to air quality data. Among these is the European Air Quality Portal, managed by the EEA, which collects and links numerous databases on air pollutants in the EU. Additional information is also available through European Commission Portals and regional platforms. In Italy, ARPA and ISPRA websites allow consultation of data from monitoring stations, alert systems, and interactive maps through dedicated portals. “Near real-time” data are collected and transmitted daily by Regions and Autonomous Provinces to ISPRA, which forwards them to the European Commission. These data, relating to major pollutants and available with a physiological delay of a few hours, can be consulted in the dashboard of Sistema Nazionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente.
The importance of prevention and environmental monitoring
Keeping up with regulatory updates and promoting monitoring and prevention actions is essential to protect citizens’ health and contribute to achieving the European sustainability goals.