– You can’t avoid breathing in the air, says Alberto Gonzalez with a wry smile. He is an expert on air quality at the European Environment Agency, EEA, which has just published a report showing that air quality in Europe is getting better and better. It is good for the health of Europeans. Air pollution is to blame for diseases such as lung cancer, asthma and cardiovascular diseases and premature death. In 2005, around 412,000 people died prematurely due to air pollution, but by 2020 the number had fallen to 238,000 people. – If we compare ourselves to other parts of the world, we are forerunners in terms of good air quality together with North America and Australia, says Alberto Gonzalez, and points out that improvement in air quality has been achieved through European and national measures to limit emissions of pollutants in both agriculture, industry and the transport sector. So far, the number of premature deaths has decreased by 45 percent since 2005 in the EU, and the goal is to reduce it by 55 percent by 2030. According to the EEA, it can be successful. The smoke out of the city Air pollution encompasses several different particles that swirl up in the air. For example, dust that floats into the air when grain is transferred from a wagon to a silo, or smoke from the exhaust pipes of cars and buses. And in fact, restrictions on polluting cars in more and more European cities are part of the explanation for the cleaner air. In the last three years alone, the number of low-emission zones in European cities has risen by 40 percent. This means that old polluting cars are not allowed and that exhaust pipes must have a particulate filter fitted to be allowed to drive in certain areas of London, Berlin or 320 other European cities. In London, which is one of the leading cities for low-emission zones, the zones have removed 50 percent of air pollution from cars since 2016. – When cars in cities pollute less and buses run on electricity, it not only provides cleaner air, but it also promotes the use of bikes, says Alberto Gonzalez. And the cleaner air creates a wave of good effects with less traffic noise, less CO2 emissions and higher well-being in the city, he explains. Heating pollutes But even though the air is far better today than just 20 years ago, we have not reached our goal. Today, one of the biggest sources of pollution is when we turn on the heat. The heat in the radiator is largely produced in a central heating plant or a boiler in the basement that runs on gas, oil or coal, and which emits particles into the air. – These are our houses, the buildings we work in and the shopping centers we shop in, says Alberto Gonzalez. The solution is primarily to switch to electric heating. What’s more, the district heating system used in Denmark is very efficient and it could be advantageously spread to several countries, he explains. But the EU has also for several years supported energy renovation of buildings in Europe, which means that the buildings simply retain the heat better. That way, you don’t have to use as much fuel to heat the buildings, so that is also part of the solution. We know what we have to do – But many more measures are needed at both European, national and not least local level to further reduce air pollution, says Alberto Gonzalez. But what we lack is not a new miracle cure to further reduce air pollution. We already know what works. We must do more of what we are already doing, he says. When we turn on the radiator, the heat cannot come from a polluting source. Our homes must be insulated and the cars on the roads must run less and preferably on electricity. All together to avoid premature death, illnesses and admissions. – The air is something that concerns us all, says Alberto Gonzalez.
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Cleaner air saves lives in Europe: – We all need to breathe, so air quality is crucial
