EU clean air policies: Air pollution from heating

Clean air is essential to our health and to the environment. But since the industrial revolution, the quality of the air we breathe has deteriorated considerably – mainly as a result of human activities.

Rising industrial and energy production, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass, as well as the dramatic rise in traffic on our roads all contribute to air pollution in our towns and cities which, in turn, can lead to serious problems for both health and the environment.

Almost 80 % of the energy used by EU households goes into heating and hot water. Although emissions from residential heating are going down, they are still responsible for half of Europe’s direct emissions of fine particulate matter. More action is needed to switch to cleaner fuels and more efficient heating – good for the air, good for the climate, and good for our wallets.

To counter this, the European Union has set itself the goal to achieve levels of air quality that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on, and risks to, human health and the environment.

Original source: European Commission
Published on 14 January 2019