The European Environment Agency revealed that approximately 238,000 air pollution deaths could be prevented each year if the EU27 countries actually followed the World Health Organization guidelines for air pollution. It added that more than 400,000 deaths could also be prevented if particle air pollution was avoided completely.

The EU Council on February 20 agreed on a new legislation for clean air for 2030 and beyond. A new study revealed the expected benefits that could arise from reductions in air pollution due to traffic and home heating if these new legal limits are met.

The study focused on 41 European countries and discovered that a 20% drop in road traffic pollution could decrease annual excess deaths across Europe by about 7,000 people a year by reducing particle pollution. Diving deeper, they concluded that Germany tops the chart with potential decreases of more than 1,000 deaths annually, while in the UK and Italy, it would be more than 500. The latter estimates were based on air pollution and health statistics from 2015.

In parallel, a 20% decrease in air pollution from home heating would decrease the number of deaths by approximately 13,000 each year, which, in turn, helps East and Central Europe the most because of their high use of solid fuel for heating. Germany, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, and Turkey would have at least 1,000 fewer deaths each, while the UK would experience at least 650 fewer deaths.

The new study also revealed that more than half of the benefits would come from fewer deaths specifically those caused by heart attacks, strokes, and type 2 diabetes, as well as lung cancer.

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Dr. Niki Paisi, who was part of the study team at the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center at the Cyprus Institute, stated, “Of the excess deaths in Europe that are attributed to long-term exposure to particle pollution, 26% and 12% of these can be avoided if residential combustion and road-transport emissions are phased out, respectively. Countries like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, and Poland could experience higher benefits from a phase-out, given that these two sectors contribute together to nearly 50% of the particle pollution mortality in these countries.”

These sectors are the center of net zero strategies, which means that there are opportunities for optimizing European air pollution and climate policies for maximum health benefits.

What about other sources of particle pollution?

A study by Barcelona’s ISGlobal research institute published in 2023 shed some light on the issue of death caused by sources of particle pollution other than traffic and house heating. This study can assist national and especially city governments in understanding which polluting sectors they should prioritize.

Prof Mark Nieuwenhuijsen from ISGlobal explained, “Cities are still hotspots of air pollution and premature deaths. Urgent action is needed. This requires a holistic approach bringing together many different sectors including energy, transport, industry, and agriculture.”

Nieuwenhuijsen’s team has created an online tool that permits the public, city authorities, and governments to delve into the research database and visualize the harm from the different pollution sources in their area.

Many people in the UK and countries bordering the North Sea may be shocked by knowing that shipping is listed as a substantial source of particle pollution.

For large areas of north-west Europe, including much of the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, agriculture is one of the largest sources of early deaths from particle pollution, alongside transport and home heating. The latter gets little public and political attention, and solutions from farmers are rarely incorporated in air pollution plans. Figures released by the UK government in mid-February shed light on the need for more action with slow or no progress in reducing air pollution from farms and home heating with solid fuels.