EURegionsWeek – MOT Workshop “Air Quality in Cross-Border Regions”
Event feedback
At a time when environmental health is becoming an increasingly important concern for populations, and when the European Commission is launching its ambitious “Zero Pollution Action Plan” as part of the European Green Deal, the MOT and its network decided to organise a workshop entitled “Breathing without borders: the challenges of improving air quality in cross-border regions” during the European Week of Cities and Regions.
“Today we know enough about the effects of pollution: they are environmental, health-related, and social — with the most vulnerable populations being the most exposed. It is time to act in coordination with our German neighbours!” said Françoise Schaetzel, Vice-President of the Strasbourg Eurometropolis and Vice-President of ATMO Grand Est, after presenting the progress achieved through the ATMO VISION project. “This project provided an initial response to the challenge of data harmonisation in the Upper Rhine area by producing cross-border air quality maps and analysing pollution sources in a trinational context.”
Focusing on the Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau area, emissions linked to individual transport were highlighted, as illustrated by the B-solutions project, which aimed to identify solutions to the issue of environmental “Crit’Air” stickers. These are mandatory in the Strasbourg metropolitan area but are not compatible with German emissions stickers.
Involved in the Franco-Belgian TRANSF’AIR project, and located in the heart of a densely populated urban area crossed by major transport routes, the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis emphasised the civic and political dimension of air pollution challenges in a cross-border context: “European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs) can play a key role in raising awareness and informing residents!”
Building on the recommendations that emerged from the workshop, the MOT committed to responding to the consultation launched as part of the revision of EU air quality legislation, whose objective is to align European standards with the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
