Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the fifth EU Clean Air Forum in the beautiful city of Bonn and in this historic Bundestag plenary chamber.
This city and this chamber symbolise the traditions of democracy, diplomacy and debate.
Knowing that Beethoven was born in Bonn, I hummed the European Hymn while looking from the car at the beautiful landscape along the Rhine.
So I cant think of a better place to hold todays Forum.
Air is the one resource that, if it was gone, we would miss instantly.
It is that fundamental to our survival.
Yet, very often, we dont think of it at all.
And when we do, we view it as the one thing we can always count on. Free and endlessly available.
Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.
Today, air pollution continues to damage our societies and economies.
It causes millions of deaths and countless occurrences of disease globally every year.
More than 200,000 deaths are attributable to air pollution each year in the EU alone.
So, the bad news is stark.
But the good news is simple. We know what we need to do, and we are moving in the right direction.
Air quality has improved steadily in recent decades.
The EU is on track to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by more than 55% by 2030 compared to 2005.
How? Well, because clean air action works.
Our policies in transport, industry, energy, in climate mitigation, and more, have delivered results.
Take our host city today.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter in Bonn have dropped by around 50% since 2015.
In fact, air pollutant emissions went down overall in the EU in the last 20 years.
Sulphur dioxide dropped by 85%.
Nitrogen oxides by 53%.
Ammonia reductions by 17%.
These are not just numbers. They are real-world improvements in our health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
And the benefits are evident across our entire society.
Every euro spent for clean air generates at least four times the benefit – and our assessment shows that greater ambition delivers even greater economic reward.
For instance, clean air is also a condition for healthy crops, for food security and for farmers incomes.
Wheat losses related to air pollution alone amounted to 1.3 billion euro in 2022.
Clean air policy helps to reduce these risks.
Now, we need to stay the course and even increase our efforts.
We have just published the evaluation of the ‘National Emission reduction Commitments Directive‘, or the NEC Directive for short.
This sets targets for Member States and monitors progress.
Our evaluation found that the NEC Directive works, and that it does so in synergy with other relevant EU policies.
But there is still work to do, especially to meet new commitments that start in 2030.
Last year, we adopted the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive, which introduces new standards and requirements for Member States.
But to meet these new air standards and the Zero Pollution Ambition we need investment - in sync with investments to slow down climate change.
Environmental policy, including for clean air, is expected to remain a priority in EU funding – and this is key.
The proposal for the 2028 to 2034 EU budget includes a 35% climate and environment spending target and an improved system for EU spending on green objectives.
But private investment also has a role to play.
Environmental standards can stimulate innovation and enhance productivity, positively impacting European competitiveness.
Achieving cleaner air requires tailored solutions across various sectors and industries. And in doing so, it presents opportunities for innovative start-ups to market their technologies.
We also need to be as efficient as possible with our investments.
And that means investing in measures that bring us closer to several policy objectives at the same time.
For example, greenhouse gases and air pollutants share many of the same sources – vehicles, residential heating, and industrial installations.
That means that increased climate ambition produces co-benefits for clean air – and vice versa.
Likewise, driving the energy transition yields cleaner air.
Cleaner cars, increased use of public transport and better cycling infrastructure can improve the quality of air in our towns and cities – while also reducing traffic, making our urban areas more liveable, and improving citizens quality of life.
EU legislation and policies are promoting important changes in all of these areas.
The Commission has launched a plan to deliver a well-functioning and faster railway network in Europe by 2040.
And we are leveraging new digital technologies to support our efforts.
For example, the European Air Quality Index application – which many of you will be familiar with – provides instant and reliable information on air quality.
Because, as the saying goes, knowledge is power.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At some stage today, nearly every single person on Earth will breathe air that is unsafe.
That means we all have a role to play – at home and abroad.
Air pollution seeps through borders and across regions.
Smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of miles, as do anthropogenic emissions.
So, our efforts also need to span borders – and we are doing so by implementing the EUs advanced clean air policies, and by fostering EU-level funding to reduce emissions across all sectors and all industries.
The EU is also determined to lead the way at the global level.
Looking ahead, we will focus on achieving an ambitious revision of the UN Gothenburg Protocol.
At a national level, we will continue to work closely with EU Member States to set an ambitious and coherent policy framework.
At regional level, there is no “one size fits all” solution.
Our policies need to consider the different regional realities across Europe.
And last, but not least, the local level.
This is where citizens and their authorities play a vital part.
In fact, cities are at the very forefront of this fight.
It is in towns and cities where most of the European Green Deal initiatives are being implemented and where around 80% of Europeans live.
And it is in towns and cities where air pollution is often the worst.
So we need to ensure we take everyone, at all levels, with us on this journey.
Clean air is an investment in our future and in our future generations.
But, to paraphrase UN Secretary-General Guterres:
If we invest heavily today – with time and energy, resources and commitment – we can breathe easy tomorrow.
Events like this one are a crucial part of that process.
So I wish you a very successful Forum. And I look forward to working closely with you to deliver a cleaner future.