What’s new in the European Air Quality Directive (EU) 2024/2881?

The new European Air Quality Directive (EU) 2024/2881 represents a major step forward in the quest for a cleaner and healthier atmosphere in Europe.

With a goal of zero pollution in 2050 and the purpose of aligning with the revised WHO guidelines of 2021, this directive seeks that human health, natural ecosystems and biodiversity are not affected by air quality as it has been happening; this is why it brings with it a series of objectives and challenges for the European Union and, of course, for Spain.

Throughout this article we will delve into issues such as:

• The origins and objectives of the new European air quality regulation
• Analysis, key points and implementation deadlines of EU Regulation 2024/2881
• What are the new supersites monitoring stations?

The Origins and objectives of the Directive 2024/2881

As a “recast version” of previous legislation, Directive (EU) 2024/2881 introduces substantial changes and updates, aiming to establish a regulatory framework that will more effectively protect European citizens from the risks associated with poor air quality.

Several key events in the decades leading up to 2024 impacted the drafting and adoption of this new EU legislation.

Until now, Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC were the current ambient air quality regulations in force.

In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the most significant update of the Air Quality Guidelines to date: Air Quality Guidelines – Global Update 2005.

Based on the scientific evidence available at the time, this guideline publised guideline levels for the main air pollutants harmful to health, such as particulate matter (PM), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂).

Among other objectives, on December 11th, 2019, the European Commission presented the ‘European Green Deal’, a roadmap in which the Commission committed to further improve air quality and to bring the Union’s air quality standards more closely in line with the WHO recommendations.

Two years later, on 12th May 2021, the European Commission adopted the ‘EU Zero Pollution Action Plan’, setting out a vision for the year 2050 in which air pollution is reduced to levels that are not considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems.

Zero pollution hierarchy: reversing the pyramid of action, prioritising approaches to tackle pollution. Source: European Commission

A few months later, in September 2021, the WHO again updated its air quality guidelines based on a systematic review of the scientific evidence on the health effects of air pollution.

These guidelines highlightetd new evidence on how harmful certain pollutants are even at lower levels than the ones described in the previous guidelines, such as PM10 and PM2,5 particulate matter and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).

On October 26th, 2022, the European Commission published a revision of the proposed Ambient Air Quality Directive that specifically sought to align EU air quality standards more closely to these WHO recommendations, as well as to strengthen provisions on air quality monitoring, modelling and planninng.

On February 20th, 2024 the European Parliament and the Counsil reached a provisional political agreement on the revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directives, which was formally adopted on April 24th 2024.

Directive (EU) 2024/2881 of the European Parliament and the Council, recast on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, is formally adopted on October 23rd 2024 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on November 20th 2024. Twenty days after its release, on December 10th 2024, it enters into force.

From now on, a period of 2 years is given, until December 11th 2026, the deadline by wich Member States must transpose the Directive (EU) 2024/2881 into their national legislation.

The new limit values for the human health protection specified in this Directive -which are explained in more detail in the next section of this article- must be achieved by January 1st, 2030 the latest.

Analysis, key points and implementation deadlines of the EU 2024/2881

The new European air quality legislation sets out a number of objectives for 2050, the most ambitious of which is to move from an improvement in air quality to achieving zero air pollution by that date. The directive also identifies 2030 as an intermediate milestone in the achievement of these objectives.

This target aims to achieve pollutant concentration levels that do not pose a risk to human health, natural ecosystems or biodiversity.

To this end, a series of common objectives are proposed for all Member States that are closely linked to the WHO 2021 guidelines. These objectives intend to align with the most stringent recommendations in terms of exposure limit values for certain atmospheric pollutants.

The new features and key points of the directive, as detailed in the official document, include the following:

• New ambient air quality assessment methods
• New pollutants to be assessed and ‘Supersites’ creation
• More stringent limit values, alert thresholds and information
• Information on compliance and deferrals
• Citizens access to justice

New developments in air quality assesment methods

The main developments in air quality measurement are related to its technical aspects.

These modifications are reflected in Articles 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter II of the Directive and basically deal with:

• The new assessment thersholds and sampling points
• The importance of modelling applications
• The assessment of emerging polutants in new supersites

The new assessment thresholds (Annex II) have been considerably reduced. This means that some zones will require more accurate, continuous measurement methods, and a revision of the minimum number of sampling points will therefore be necessary.

This will require more measurement points, i.e. more AAQ monitoring stations.

AAQMS consist of accredited, accurate and reliable reference instrumentation that meets the required data quality objectives, as set out in current legislation.

Increasing the number of sampling points in all Member States should ensure representative coverage of densely populated areas, including sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and industrial areas.

Expanding monitoring networks in this way will provide a more accurate picture of population exposure to pollutants.

Another significant change is that modelling applications will play a more important role than they have done in the past.

Modelling involves using mathematical and computational tools to estimate air pollutant concentrations in areas whare direct measurements are unavailable. This technique enables us to understand the spatial distribution of pollution, forecast its evolution and facilitate informed decision-making. It also allows us to assess the spatial representativeness of fixed measurement stations with respect to pollutant sources.

These applications have a very important role to play as a complement to fixed AAQM stations, since information from fixed sampling points is expected to be supplemented by modelling techniques.

According to Article 8, using complementary techniques such as modelling could reduce the minimum number of fixed sampling points required. This will be possible inzones below the assessment threshold set for pollutants, where modelling applications, indicative measurements, objective estimates (or a combination thereof) for the assessment of ambient air quality, provided that sufficient information is provided and data quality objectives are met.

Modelling is a versatile tool that can be used to improve overall understanding, optimise networks, and supplement data where levels are lower than assessment levels but still necessary for properly assessing areas where limit or target values are exceeded.

Importantly, Directive (EU) 2024/2881 requires Member States to ensure the accuracy of modelling applications and promotes the harmonisation of these techniques.

At the European level, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the technical reference body for air quality modelling. It coordinates the European Network, which establishes best practice in modelling and promotes harmonisation between countries. The JRC also periodically reviews the approaches used.

However, Member States must specify how to apply these models in their national transpositions and designate one or more competent authorities responsible for assessing air quality, including modelling, reporting data to the European Commission, and participating in cooperation networks.

New pollutants to be assessed at Supersites

Perhaps the most significant development in ambient air quality assessment methods is defined in Article 10, which concerns the fixed monitoring of emerging pollutants at super-monitoring sites, or supersites, as they are also known. This will be discussed in more detail below.

From now on, the concentration and particle size distribution of ultrafine particles (UFP) and black carbon will be monitored in urban background supersites, while rural background supersites will also monitor ammonia in addition to UFP and black carbon.

The article also recommends measuring particulate oxidative power, levoglucosan and nitric acid in both urban and rural areas.

The aim is to improve scientific knowledge of these emerging pollutants and how they interact to generate new ones.

Summary of new developments in air quality assessment methods:

• The reduction of assessment thresholds has led to an increase in sampling points (fixed AAQM stations).
• Modelling can be used as an assessment method under certain circumstances.
• Creation of supersites for urban and rural background monitoring.
• Supersites will monitor new emerging pollutants such as ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon and ammonia.

Stricter limit values and new alert and reporting thresholds

Another major new feature of this directive is undoubtedly the new limit values for key pollutants.

As mentioned throughout this article, the objective for 2050 is to achieve zero ambient air pollution. Tho ths end, stricter limit values have been set for key pollutants, with the ultimate aim of reducing their impact on cititizens’ health.

New alert and information thresholds are also set, which are reflected in this table:

The European Union’s efforts to improve air quality are evident in the significant reduction in permitted limits for pollutants such as PM2.5, which goes from 25 μg/m³ to 10 μg/m³, and NO₂, which is halved from 2030.

PM2.5 concentrations in 2023 versus the permitted limit value in 2030. Source: European Environment Agency

These substantial changes demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting public health, given that these pollutants are directly linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Summary: stricter limit values

• The limit value for PM2.5 will decrease from 25 μg/m³ to 10 μg/m³ by 2030.
• The limit value for PM10 will decrease from 40 μg/m³ to 20 μg/m³ by 2030.
• The NO₂ limit value will decrease from 40 μg/m³ to 20 μg/m³ in 2030.
• There will be an annual limit of 20 μg/m³ for SO₂, which was previously uncapped, and a daily limit of 50 μg/m³ in 2030.
• The limit value for benzene will decrease from 5 μg/m³ to 3.4 μg/m³ in 2030.
• New alert and reporting thresholds have been added.

Information on non-compliance and deferrals

The ambitious nature of this directive, coupled with the technical complexity of the solutions, raises questions about how technological development and real industrial potential can be combined to achieve the objectives set out in the legislation.

From 1 January 2030, Spain will have to comply with the stricter limit values defined in Table 1 of Annex I, significantly reducing levels of pollutants such as PM2.5 and NO₂ (among others).

However, given the complexity of this objective, the directive allows for postponements in meeting these targets, provided they are requested before 31 December 2028. This is the deadline by which Spain must establish air quality roadmaps for areas where the limit values are predicted not to be met by 2030.

The directive is strict, establishing that reasons for postponement must be specific and detailed. In the event of a postponement request, specific measures to keep exceedances as short as possible and achieve compliance with limit values by the end of the postponement period must be provided.

Due to the technical complexity of meeting the obligations to reduce average exposure to certain air pollutants, deferrals may be requested before December 2028, providing a comprehensive and thorough roadmap.

Public access to justice

This new directive ensures that the public has access to up-to-date, comprehensible information on air quality. It also gives them the right to seek compensation for health damage resulting from breaches of the rules, and to impose penalties.

These measures strengthen citizens’ rights and promote transparency in air quality management.

Access to justice does not apply to the entire legal text, but it does apply to:

• The location and points of sampling if stakeholders consider that sampling is not being carried out adequately.
• Air quality plans and roadmaps if rights are considered to be violated.
• Short-term action plans.

This legal regime is public and is intended to ensure that these processes are fair, equitable, quick, and inexpensive (so as not to prevent private individuals from accessing justice).

The directive provides compensation for damage to human health, ensuring that citizens have the right to claim compensation when health is damaged as a result of an intentional or negligent breach of national rules.

Similarly, infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to the Directive may be subject to penalties, and the necessary measures must be taken to enforce them.

Summary: Deferrals and access to justice

• Deferrals can be requested before 2028.
• A detailed and comprehensive roadmap will be presented, outlining the measures to be implemented and the objectives to be achieved.
• Citizens will have access to justice to request compensation and penalties.

What are supersites or super air monitoring sites according to EU Regulation 2024/2881?

Perhaps one of the most important new features of Directive (EU) 2024/2881 is the introduction of the concept of ‘supersites’ for air quality monitoring.

Super-sites are advanced monitoring stations very similar to those we are used to, but they bring together different types of air quality monitoring in one place in order to provide a more integrated and comprehensive view of air pollution, especially in representative areas such as large urban areas or industrial regions.

These stations combine multiple sampling points to collect long-term data on various pollutants, including additional pollutants for which no established or legislated value existed (emerging pollutants), with the aim of improving understanding of their effects on human health and the environment, as recommended by the WHO.

The directive requires states to establish a network of super-monitoring sites in both urban and rural background locations based on the following criteria:

• 1 super-monitoring site per 10 million inhabitants
• 1 super-monitoring site per 100,000 km²

This means that in Spain, 5 supersites in urban background and 5 in rural background must be established.

These supersites will be equipped with high-quality instrumentation, in accordance with European standards, to monitor the concentration and particle size distribution of ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon and ammonia, among other recommended measurements.

Conclusion: the challenge of measuring air quality by 2050

The new European Air Quality Directive (EU) 2024/2881 represents a major step forward in the quest for cleaner, healthier air in Europe.

With an ambitious goal of ‘zero pollution’ by 2050 and new pollutant limit values aligned with the WHO, this directive, which must be transposed into national law by December 2026 at the latest, requires a coordinated effort by government authorities, businesses and citizens to achieve it.

At Envira, as experts with more than 40 years of experience in air quality monitoring for both public immission networks and emissions monitoring in private companies, we are prepared to meet the challenge and provide accurate and reliable solutions.

References:

• COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0400

• EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/european-green-deal/

• AIR QUALITY: COUNCIL AND PARLIAMENT REACH AGREEMENT TO STRENGTHEN EU STANDARDS: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/02/20/air-quality-council-and-parliament-strike-deal-to-strengthen-standards-in-the-eu/

• TEXT ADOPTED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. NEWSLETTER: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2024-04-24_ES.html#sdocta6

• AIR POLLUTION: DEAL WITH COUNCIL TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY. PRESS RELEASE: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/es/press-room/20240219IPR17816/air-pollution-deal-with-council-to-improve-air-quality

• BENCHMARK ANALYSIS AGAINST THE STANDARDS IN THE REVISED DIRECTIVE (EU): https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/air-quality-status-report-2025/benchmark-analysis-against-the-standards-in-the-revised-directive-eu-2024-2881