Towards the New European Air Quality Directive: Dialogue and Synergies Between Research Infrastructures, Local Authorities, and Environmental Agencies.

Air quality monitoring has been set up as a key point in the European agenda in the framework of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 7, 10, 11 and 13). The European Commission, through the “Zero Pollution Action Plan,” has defined the pollution-related objectives to be tackled, including a reduction of over 55% in the health impact of air pollution and a 25% decrease in ecosystems affected by pollution by 2030 (European Commission, 2021). In this context, the new Directive 2881/2024 on air quality provides guidelines for EU Member States to align with the targets set by the European Green Deal, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and the SDGs (European Parliament & Council of the European Union, 2024). Among other priorities, the regulation emphasizes emerging pollutants, the role of supersites, and updated limit values. Achieving these objectives will require significant commitment and coordinated action, especially from countries particularly impacted by the new thresholds. Italy is particularly sensitive to the air quality regulatory framework for three main aspects. The first is the national demography since it is the third most populated country in the European Union. A second factor that emphasize the need of actions for the air quality is the presence of the Po Valley, a well-known air quality hotspot characterized by particulate matter levels expected to remain an issue in the years to come. The third reason is linked to Italy’s geographical location in the Mediterranean basin, which exposes especially the southern regions to intense desert dust intrusion events. Guidelines on how to consider and manage exceedances due to natural events in relation to the new Directive, are also expected to be released by the European Commission next year. In fact, in the framework of the Directive 2881/2024 which is expected to be effective from 2030, the need of establishing a dialogue path between the air quality Italian stakeholders that will be involved in the compliance of the new regulation, emerged.