To protect public health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution, ECDA joined forces with our member the European Respiratory Society in calling on policymakers to engage with the new WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines 2021 and implement ambitious clean air policies without delay.

In a new statement released on 22 September, over 100 organisations – representing public health experts, specialist healthcare professionals and patients – highlight their support for the recently published Guidelines and call on countries to use them as a guide for effective air quality and emission reduction policies around the world.

In particular, to:

• Revise clean air legislation to lower the limit values for PM2.5 and NO2 in air pollution hot spots and align them closely with the WHO AQGs 2021.
• Combine fixed limit values with binding policies for a continuous reduction of the average pollution levels in all places, and not only in pollution hot spots, to achieve progressive lowering of exposures of the entire population.
• Invest, implement, and effectively monitor and enforce clean air policies to protect and improve public health and feed into efforts for climate neutrality.

Air pollution is a major cause of mortality and disability in the EU and globally. It is linked to major chronic diseases including lung and heart diseases, diabetes, cancer; as well as infant mortality, and emerging evidence points to harmful effects on pregnancy, cognitive development in children, dementia and mental health, as well as an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

There is no safe level of air pollution, as evidence has shown there are harms to human health even at the lowest observable levels of exposure.

Read the full joint statement here.