EU city-dwellers still suffer from air and noise pollution

EU city-dwellers still suffer from air and noise pollution

Air quality in urban areas has improved, but meeting future standards will be challenging.
The EU’s zero-pollution noise target for 2030 seems to be a long shot.
Europe’s cities are struggling to implement effective counter-measures.

Urban pollution continues to be a major environmental threat to health in the EU, warns a report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). European cities are too noisy, and air pollution remains too high, despite improvements. This is a particular cause for concern, say the auditors, as the EU and its member states will need to step up their efforts to meet the stricter standards in the years to come.

Three quarters of EU citizens live in urban areas, and are therefore particularly exposed to air and noise pollution. Air pollution kills at least 250,000 people every year in Europe, according to the European Environment Agency. In addition, long-term exposure to excessive levels of noise can have adverse effects on health, such as sleep disturbance, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and mental health problems, resulting in 48,000 new cases of heart disease and 12,000 premature deaths in Europe every year. The EU has introduced rules to protect its 450 million citizens against air and noise pollution. The European Commission also claims that it has mobilised €46.4 billion for 2014-2020 and €185.5 billion for 2021-2027 to support clean air objectives.

“There have been positive developments in the fight against urban pollution. However, it would be a big mistake to rest on our laurels”, said Klaus-Heiner Lehne, the ECA Member responsible for the audit. “The EU and its member states must realise that ambitious targets cannot be achieved without considerable additional effort.”

The auditors acknowledge that air quality has improved in the EU overall. However, they warn that air pollution – particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration caused by cars and lorries – remains a major problem. In 2022, 10 member states were still exceeding the current EU nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit. With EU air quality standards soon to become more stringent, EU cities will need to increase their efforts to meet the new EU standards if they are to move closer to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Noise is the other face of urban pollution, and is often overlooked. The auditors conclude that assessing progress in reducing this type of pollution in the EU is virtually impossible. Most member states have gaps and delays in monitoring noise, meaning that a trend cannot be established. Data suggest that the 2030 zero-pollution noise target of a 30 % reduction in the number of people harmed by transport noise is unlikely to be met. Estimates show that it will decline by 19 % at best, and, in a worst-case scenario, could even increase by 3 % by 2030.

The fact is that cities struggle to address air and noise pollution effectively. Reasons for this range from poor coordination by the authorities to the questionable effectiveness of measures, not to mention local resistance against them. Take, for instance, the green zones (‘axes’), where pedestrians and cyclists have priority over cars. The auditors found that they bring benefits to locals, but make air quality and noise levels in the surrounding streets worse. Similarly, low emission zones – which help to reduce air and noise pollution – are an increasingly sensitive issue. For example, attempts to introduce them in Barcelona and Kraków faced legal challenges on the grounds of discrimination or constraints on free movement, which led to the measure being scaled down or postponed.

The auditors also found that the European Commission’s infringement procedure is lengthy and not always effective in making the audited cities comply with the EU’s rules on air and noise pollution.

Background information

Articles 191 and 192 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) empower the EU to act to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, and protect human health. More recently, as part of the European Green Deal in 2021, specific targets were set for reducing air and noise pollution by 2030. The aim is not only to reduce the impact of air pollution on health (in terms of premature deaths) by more than 55 % and the threat to biodiversity in EU ecosystems by 25 %, but also to reduce the number of people chronically affected by transport noise by 30 %. These targets are not, however, binding on member states.

Special report 02/2025, “Urban pollution in the EU – Cities have cleaner air but are still too noisy”, is available on the ECA website.

Contact:

ECA press office: press@eca.europa.eu