In the study – the first to look into the
effectiveness of specific EU policies to reduce air pollution across Europe –
researchers used a computer model to compare the current amount of air
pollution simulated across Europe to a scenario in which no air quality
legislation or new emissions technologies had been introduced since 1970.
These measures include EU regulations
for the improvement of fuel quality and the adoption of European emissions
standards in transport, as well as the introduction of particle filters and
catalytic converters.
Researchers then estimated the
number of lives saved each year thanks to the improved air quality based on the
relationships they found between the amount of air pollution and the impacts on
human health.
On average, they concluded,
80.000 lives are saved every year across Europe. “To put this number in
perspective,” explains co-author Professor Ken Carslaw, of the university’s
School of Earth and Environment, “in 2011 just slightly in excess of 400.000
premature deaths were attributed to particulate air pollution over Europe, so
EU policy has dramatically improved the health of European citizens.”
Their finding provides an
important argument for the UK’s continued membership of the EU, says co-author
Dr Dominick Spracklen, also of the School of Earth and Environment. “Our work
shows that EU policies have improved air quality. If the UK were to exit the
EU, our air quality policy would no longer be subject to EU legislation, with
potential implications for future air quality,” he explains. “Regardless of the
UK’s position in the EU, it is vital that we continue to reduce air pollution
emissions to ensure future air quality and the health of the British public.”
The study has been published
in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
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