What kind of air are we breathing?

Air pollution in European cities is a subject of great interest in terms of the environment, science and public health. The introduction of the new EU directives on air quality, developed through the publication of the 1996 framework directive, calls for considerable efforts from the different administrations to achieve the quality objectives set by this legislation. One of the major premises is that European cities all have the same right to be protected equally from air pollution, whether they are located in highly-developed Scandinavian countries or in countries in Eastern Europe. The three pollutants for which it will be difficult to fulfil the key objectives are: ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particles in suspension. In the cities it is the latter two that cause “the problem”. This problem is complex because some cities have applied many measures – since 2003 – to reduce pollution, and they have not yet achieved the desired objectives (e.g. London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm). Collaboration between research teams is necessary to solve the problem. CSIC, through IDAEA, is collaborating with the Generalitat’s Department of the Environment, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Environments and different Autonomous Regions in order to carry out scientific studies to identify the causal sources of the problems, and to propose possible solutions. The results of these collaborative efforts will be presented during the lecture series.