Climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss affect people’s health and generate multi-billion-euro economic losses, as a briefing produced by HEAL Poland under the patronage of the Institute of Water Economy and Meteorology of the National Research Institute and the Polish Federation of Asthma, Allergy, and COPD Patients Associations highlights.
More than 300 cities across Europe have now established low emission zones (LEZ) to curb air pollution from urban traffic. While more and more studies demonstrate the effectiveness of LEZs in cleaning up the air and thus preventing ill-health, the need for such zones is increasingly put in question by some members of the public and policymakers.
A new policy brief, co-published by HEAL and the Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualités Libres), shows that the Belgian LEZs in Brussels and Antwerp have led to tangible air quality improvements in a period of only five years. Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution was reduced by 30% in Antwerp and 37% in Brussels. This policy brief is based on the study “Positive impact of the introduction of low-emission zones in Antwerp and Brussels on air quality, socio-economic disparities and health: a quasi-experimental study”. This was a research project led by the Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualites Libres/Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen) with KU Leuven, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Belgian Interregional Environment Agency, and Hasselt University.
The policy brief also underlines that the Brussels LEZ has had a beneficial effect especially for people living in socio-economically deprived inner-city areas. In these areas, air pollution has declined more steeply, from 33,44 ug/ m3 to 21,69 ug/ m3 for NO2, and black carbon pollution has almost halved.
As cities across Belgium and the other EU member states prepare to implement more health-protective clean air standards, low emission zones are an essential tool for reaching the new objectives for 2030 set in the new EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directives. The continued implementation and tightening of LEZs is also key for advancing the transition to more sustainable and health-promoting urban transport systems.
Based on the study results, the policy brief puts forward a set of recommendations.
These include for Belgian and regional policymakers to not delay or slow down the implementation of a Low Emission Zone and to swiftly implement the EU revised EU clean air standards, that will be mandatory by 2030. There are many good practice examples on LEZ and healthy urban transport from cities across the EU in which to find inspiration. Local stakeholders as well as residents should also be involved in the setting up and implementation of LEZs and other measures to ensure public support for these measures. Furthermore, local decisionmakers should also take an integrative approach to urban planning, which will help to protect city residents’ health and strengthen climate resilience. The Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) and the Social Climate Fund can be used to ensure a fair transition for the more deprived citizens, leaving no one behind. Lastly, active mobility such as walking or cycling should be promoted by also developing more green areas and not only through cycling infrastructures.
Similarly, European policymakers should provide EU financial support to cities for the transition to healthier and more sustainable urban transport systems. For this, it is also important the sufficient budget is available in the coming years, particularly for the Social Climate Fund and Just Transition Mechanism. The sharing of good practice on LEZ and sustainable transport systems across the EU should also be facilitated to that local decision-makers can easily access them. Lastly, European policymakers should swiftly review and strictly control air quality action plans for the inclusion of LEZ and compliance with the requirements set forward in the new AAQD (Annex VIII).
Read the full policy brief here
