The electrification of certain sectors, including mobility, is (also) a matter of public health. Improving air quality in our cities has been one of Brussels' central objectives for several years now: in April 2024, the European Parliament gave its final green light to the new air quality directive, which brings EU standards into line with the most recent guidelines issued by the World Health Organization. Among the key measures in this tightening of pollution rules – which is responsible for 300,000 deaths per year on our continent – are stricter limits for pollutants with the greatest impact on health, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), whose annual values must be cut by more than half by the end of the decade. "Pollution is one of the leading causes of premature death and chronic cardiorespiratory disease – explains Clementina Taliento, head of communications and press office at Kyoto club – and while it is true that today's general standard of living is better than it was a few decades ago, it is equally true that the quality of life in many areas has fallen dramatically precisely because of pollution".

Taliento has extensive hands-on experience in the field, which leads her to highlight how "cardiac and pulmonary diseases, along with strokes, are those most directly linked to air pollution". According to the parameters of the World Health Organization's dedicated cancer research institute, "pollution is classified as a class 1 carcinogen – the highest category". Furthermore, the scientific literature now unanimously shows that the vast majority of pollutants – particulate matter PM10, PM2.5, ozone and methane – not only impact human health, but also amplify the effects of climate change. And this "ends up exacerbating health problems as well". In 2021, the World Health Organization updated what are defined as the minimum acceptable levels of pollution: "From an ethical standpoint these levels should not deviate from zero, but it is nonetheless an important step forward, and these guidelines should be adopted by every country in the world, even though at present none has moved in this direction except the European Union".

What is the situation in Italy and which areas are most critical

For those wishing to explore the situation in Italy in greater depth, every year Kyoto club, in collaboration with the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research of the National Research Council (CNR-IIA), publishes the "MobilitAria" report, which analyses mobility and air quality data across the 14 metropolitan cities of the Italian peninsula (Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Firenze, Genova, Messina, Milano, Napoli, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Roma, Torino, Venezia). Air quality in Italy, Taliento stresses, is among the worst in Europe. "Despite this, our country continues to lag behind in the number of electric vehicles registered, even though the density of the charging infrastructure is decidedly high relative to the vehicle fleet on the road".

At the same time, all the latest reports from the European Environment Agency confirm that the Po Valley is one of the worst areas in Europe, where in 2021 an average of 89 pollution-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded; deaths that "are attributable mainly to fine particulate matter PM2.5. The areas of our continent with the highest pollution levels are those where a high population density – which translates into a high level of anthropogenic emissions – combines with particular geographical and meteorological conditions. This is precisely the case of the Po Valley, the beating heart of the Italian economy, which has a basin-like shape that favours the accumulation of pollutants; but also of the Terni basin, where in addition to the issue of an ageing vehicle fleet, there is the problem of combustion for domestic heating, for which many households still use open fireplaces". Strong policies are therefore needed, as well as a major effort to inform and raise public awareness on these issues: "Beyond the fake news that unfortunately continues to circulate, even industry operators themselves, who should be guiding citizens through this transition, are often not adequately prepared or specialised".

Vulnerable citizens pay the highest price

And yet it is precisely citizens – particularly the most vulnerable, such as children and the elderly – who are most directly affected. As the Ministry of Health has highlighted on numerous occasions, certain sections of the population are more susceptible to pollution-related problems: young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. To this already lengthy list, Taliento adds "citizens of low socioeconomic status, because the data show that higher concentrations of air pollution are often found in areas where incomes are low and poverty persists". Within this picture, children remain "particularly susceptible because their respiratory system and immune system are still developing; they breathe at a higher frequency than adults and are therefore more exposed to pollutants. Moreover, they have a longer life expectancy, which translates into a longer and more continuous exposure to pollution". For the first time, the 2024 "MobilitAria" report also offered an estimate of the health and economic impact of air pollution across the 14 metropolitan cities under examination; targeted policy decisions aimed at reducing the risk of disease and mortality arising from high exposure to air pollution could indeed yield significant economic benefits for the entire Italian population. The economic impact of the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL), which quantifies how much is saved by reducing the risk of premature death caused by traffic pollutants, varies considerably among the cities examined in the report, with estimates ranging from 17 million to as much as 7 billion euros. This demonstrates, as Taliento points out, that "this is not only an ethical and environmental issue but also an economic one, because these diseases translate into significant costs borne by the community as a whole".

The role of the transport sector in improving air quality

On the subject of decarbonisation, that of the transport sector is fundamental to achieving the European climate targets set out in the Green Deal, which aims to make the European Union climate-neutral by 2050. But it is essential that "cities are able to obtain the appropriate tools and rules to best carry out their functions in terms of redefining traffic, road safety and the use of new technologies such as electric mobility". Looking ahead, Kyoto Club hopes that the European Parliament will "deliver measures capable of fostering structural change and innovation, accelerating the decarbonisation pathway with a smart mobility offer". The MobilitAria report contains clear indications in this regard, starting from the centrality of local public transport, alongside soft mobility and low emissions zones. In any case, "the way we move around our cities needs to be radically rethought, overcoming first and foremost the dependence on fossil fuels. If we continue to travel in internal combustion engine vehicles, it will be impossible to meet European targets".

Read the full version of the chapter at this link.