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Working for cleaner air in the agglomeration of Barcelona Air Quality Action Plan, horizon 2020 Working for cleaner air in the agglomeration of Barcelona Air Quality Action Plan, horizon 2020 Presentation For many years now, the World Health Organization has been telling 1. Air pollution and its effects 4 Contents us something that none of us can afford to ignore: the quality of the air we breathe has a direct effect on our health. It is a fact to which this Go­ 2. The air we breathe in Catalonia 14 vernment has devoted considerable attention and, as part of this ongoing effort, on 27 September 2014 it approved the Air Quality Action Plan in Special Atmospheric Environment Protection Areas (AQAP), horizon 2020. 3. Air quality action Plan 22 In general terms, the ambient air quality in Catalonia is good. There are sporadic, localised exceptions that are being monitored and which are being addressed jointly by government and enterprises with a view to im­ 4. Sectors and actions of the Plan 28 plementing measures that can provide a permanent solution. However, as is the case of most urban agglomerations, the pollutants emi­ 5. Appendices 54 tted in the Barcelona conurbation by transport, industry, power generation, Assumpta large logistics infrastructures and domestic activity have for many years ex­ appendix 1. List of actions by the Government of Catalonia 55 Farran i Poca ceeded the limits established for two pollutants in particular: nitrogen di­ and municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants oxide and suspended particulate matter, although the latest data available in the AQAP Phisics of the Air and Geophisics indicate that the levels of the latter pollutant are improving considerably. appendix 2. Barcelona Declaration on air quality, noise 56 Director­General for Unlike other environmental vectors, only preventive measures are effec­ reduction and improvements in health in large urban Environmental Quality tive in improving air quality. In the case of water, for example, any short­ agglomerations falls in prevention targets can be made up for with water treatment plants. But in the case of air, there are no ‘end­of­pipe’ measures for removing pollu tants; we can only apply preventive measures, that is, emitting fewer pollu tants into the atmosphere; otherwise, the only alternative is to wait Management: Coordination: for the wind and rain to blow them away. Assumpta Farran Isabel Hernandez Director­General for Deputy Director­General for Air Air quality is not something that we can leave to chance. Accordingly, the Environmental Quality Pollution Prevention and Control Air Quality Action Plan in Special Atmospheric Environment Protection Areas, sponsored by this Ministry, reflects a proactive approach taken by the Government, local authorities, companies and citizens and includes a Technical input: Editorial staff: This document outlines the main features of the battery of structural actions intended to act on the sources of atmospheric Expert committee on air Document coordination: Air Quality Action Plan in Special Atmospheric pollution in the Barcelona region and guarantee the Plan’s continuity and Environment Protection Areas which is the quality Xavier Mateu applicability. CREAL Technical coordination: instrument that the Government of Catalonia is implementing to improve air quality in the Air Network EU Xavier Guinart, Albert Garcia, agglomeration of Barcelona The measures included in the Plan are not easily implemented, because European Commission. DG Meritxell Margarit, Gemma they impact on important economic aspects and also daily routines; but Environment Tello, Susana Gil i Laura Díaz As background information, the present status of the ambient air both in Catalonia in general and in they are not arbitrary and address carefully studied needs. That is why one Barcelona Port the special protection area, the air pollution process, Metropolitan Transport Photographs: the main pollutants, how they are distributed in the of the strategic pillars must be communication: citizens need to under­ Authority (ATM) Subdirectorate General for territory and how they may affect people’s health stand that air pollution will not improve without an active commitment. AENA. Barcelona Airport Air Pollution Prevention and and ecosystems are also explained. Directorate-General for Control, AENA, Barcelona Finally, appendix incorporate Barcelona Declaration The Plan is an opportunity to move the economy forward towards a new Environmental Quality Port, Metropolitan Transport on air quality, noise reduction and improvements in model of city and country where innovation is not only at the service of Subdirectorate General for Authority (ATM), Catalonia health in large urban agglomerations adopted at Environmental Qualification housing agency, Granollers City the Symposium of the same title that took place in economic activity but also of the goal we explain in this document: im­ and Intervention Council, FGC, CSIC-IDAEA Barcelona on 5 June 2015, the World Environment prove the air we breathe and reduce the noise around us. And within this Day. goal, we are working to ensure that the growth of the port and the airport, the improved efficiency of public transport, the promotion of electric vehi­ The contents of this cles and industrial progress are compatible with a smarter and cleaner city D.L.: B 23207-2015 publication may be Graphic design and layout: Faino, s.l. reprinted as long as the and country. Printing: Agpograf Impressors source is cited 2 3 Working for cleaner air in the agglomeration of Barcelona 1. Air pollution and its effects Air Quality Action Plan, horizon 2020 The air we breathe is a common good that is necessary for life, and every one of us has the right to use and enjoy it. Breathing polluted air may affect people’s health, so it is important to preserve its quality. Air is composed mostly of nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2); these two gases a­ 1. Air pollution and its effects ccount for 99% of its mass. While the former gas enters and leaves our lungs virtually without any interaction, the latter is essential for life. The remaining 1% is composed of other compounds, some of which are pollutants and may have harmful effects on people’s health or the environment. Air pollution is a process that starts with the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, where these substances may undergo different transport and/or transformation effects. As a result of these processes, there is always a certain pollution concentration at any given time and place; this is what is known as immission or air quality levels. Pollutants originate from human activities or natural processes. We can act on the former, while the latter are phenomena that are intrinsic to the planet’s dynamics and, therefore, are impossible to control. The anthropogenic sources consist above all of different types of combustion, whether in industrial or energy processes or in domestic or transport activities, although they may have other origins, such as major construction work or mining activities. Once they are in the atmosphere, the pollutants are affected by weather con­ ditions, that is, they are transported horizontally and vertically and are diluted in the cleaner air surrounding them. They can also undergo other phenomena, such as chemical reactions that turn them into other compounds, or they may be swept along by the rain, joined with other substances or fragmented, etc. In recent decades, the industries that were in the historic centres of cities have moved out to the edges or to industrial parks; furthermore, significant improvements have been made in production processes, reducing the effect of their emissions on the population. However, with urban growth, residential areas are still being built too close to industrial zones, with the result that even today, large­scale industrial activities take place alongside populated areas. During the same period, however, the number of motor vehicles on the roads has grown enormously. As a result, the origin of the pollution problems has changed in recent years and this forces us to look for new solutions. Even though our cities share many of the atmospheric pollution problems that exist in Europe, they also have specific problems that do not exist in other Eu­ View of Barcelona a day when the weather situation hinders the dispersion of pollutants. ropean cities, related in particular to the high density of population and vehi­ This situation favors the formation of a layer with high levels of pollution concentration cles, and the height of the buildings, which prevents pollutant dispersion, but and low visibility also to the relative lack of rainfall, which prolongs the persistence of pollutants, and the intense solar radiation, which is the source of photochemical processes such as the formation of tropospheric ozone. 4 5 Working for cleaner air in the agglomeration of Barcelona 1. Air pollution and its effects Air Quality Action Plan, horizon 2020 Basic definitions Air quality legislation The law regulating how air quality is to be meas­ ured and assessed is Royal Decree 102/2011, of 28 January, concerning air quality improve­ ment, which transposes European Directive 2008/50/EC. This legislation also defines air quality objectives for each pollutant. There are different types of objectives, which require diffe­ rent actions: Long-term objective: a quality level to be attained in the long term and maintained, if possible, through proportionate measures, with the aim of guaranteeing effective protec­

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