Air monitoring
Most EU member states are on course to meet their 2020–2029 national emission reduction commitments for key air pollutants, according to the European Environment Agency's latest assessment, based on 2024 data reported this year. Twenty-one member states met their commitments across all five pollutants covered by the National Emission reduction Commitments Directive: ammonia, non-methane volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. Six states missed at least one target.
Ammonia, driven largely by agriculture, remains the main challenge, with four member states needing further cuts to meet their commitments. Sulphur dioxide has seen the strongest progress, with 25 states already meeting the more stringent 2030 commitments. The EEA's parallel emission inventory report, submitted under the UNECE Air Convention, confirmed a continued downward trend across all five pollutants since 2005, with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides showing the largest falls.
The agency also updated its city air quality viewer, which ranks urban areas by long-term mortality risk from fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. Nordic cities again ranked among the cleanest, while Zaragoza, Catanzaro, Valongo and Rijeka showed notable improvement since the last update.
Meeting the tighter 2030 commitments will require further effort, particularly on ammonia, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
IET 36.3 May
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