13 September, 2023
Statement from the European Respiratory Society on results of the European Parliament vote on revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directive
Professor Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Environment and Health Committee and based at the University of Copenhagen, said:
“Today’s vote by the European Parliament to strengthen the legally binding limit values for air quality is an important step in the right direction toward clean air for all, even though the full alignment with World Health Organization was moved from 2030 to 2035. As we prepare for the negotiations with the Council, this is great news for all European citizens, especially the millions who live with lung conditions such as asthma and COPD.”
“Fully aligning the EU air quality standards with WHO 2021 guidelines is key to improving the quality of the air we breathe and helping mitigate the effects of climate change. This in turn will improve lung health, prevent new disease, and lower the economic cost of treating respiratory disease.”