Latest ETC Reports (included in homepage)

This report presents summarised information on the status of air quality in Europe in 2023, based on validated air quality monitoring data officially reported by the member and cooperating countries of the EEA. It aims at informing on the status of ambient air quality in Europe in 2023 and on the progress towards meeting the European air quality standards for the protection of health, as well as the WHO air quality guidelines. The report also compares the air quality status in 2023 with the previous years. The pollutants covered in this report are particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), tropospheric ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene (C6H6) and toxic metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb). Measured concentrations above the European air quality standards for PM10, PM2.5, O3, and NO2 were reported by 18, 6, 20, and 9 reporting countries for 2022, respectively. Exceedances of the air quality standards for BaP, SO2, CO, and benzene were measured in, respectively, 9, 2, 2, and 0 reporting countries in 2023. Exceedances of European standards for toxic metals were reported by 5 stations for As, none for Cd, 1 for Pb and 2 for Ni.

This report presents summarised information on the status of air quality in Europe in 2024, based on Up-To-Date data (i.e. prior to final quality control) and validated air quality monitoring data officially reported by the member and cooperating countries of the EEA. It aims at giving more timely and preliminary information on the status of ambient air quality in Europe in 2024 for five key air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2 and SO2). The report also gives a preliminary assessment of the progress towards meeting the European air quality standards for the protection of health and the World Health Organization air quality guideline levels, and compares the air quality status in 2024 with the previous years. The preliminary data reported for 2024 shows that 7% and 13% of the monitoring stations exceeded the EU standards for PM10 and O3, respectively. The WHO AQG for PM2.5, PM10, O3 and SO2 were exceeded by 93%, 59%, 98% and 3%, respectively. Exceedances of the NO2 limit value still occur in 7 reporting countries and NO2 WHO AQG occur in all reporting countries.

This report offers an in-depth foresight assessment that critically evaluates and questions the foundational assumptions of European environmental policies related to the Green Deal. To enhance the resilience of these frameworks, the two-year study utilises a comprehensive set of methods, including impact wheel analysis, Ishikawa diagrams, cross-impact analysis, semi-structured interviews, and causal layered analysis. This approach reveals the cascading effects, entrenched cognitive biases, and intricate interdependencies present in policy design. These techniques facilitate a detailed examination of specific policy areas while providing a systemic perspective on how the connections among circular economy, bioeconomy, clean air and health, and the decarbonisation of transport impact overall sustainability results. By harnessing these diverse foresight techniques, the assessment reveals that conventional policy narratives are often oversimplified, obscuring risks and trade-offs that, if unchallenged, may impede a successful transition to a sustainable Europe. The impact wheel and Ishikawa diagrams facilitate the structured identification of primary and secondary effects, while the cross-impact analysis maps the interactive dynamics between assumptions. Semi-structured interviews provide nuanced stakeholder perspectives that uncover underlying worldviews and metaphors shaping policy discourse when synthesised via causal layered analysis. The study offers actionable recommendations for enhancing policy resilience, promoting integrated governance, and fostering adaptive strategies capable of addressing the multipronged challenges posed by environmental uncertainty.