Legambiente data: “Chronic smog emergency in 13 Italian cities”

Even before the weather conditions that favor the smog emergency, in Italy, pollution is well above the alarm levels. To denounce a “now chronic” situation is the dossier: “Mal’aria 2022 autumn edition. Towards the city, zero emissions mobility ”created by Legambiente which, as part of the Clean Cities campaigntakes stock, from the beginning of the year to early October 2022, on the air quality of 13 Italian cities in the center of the countrysidealso focusing on the theme of urban mobility policies.

Levels of off-limits pollutants, congested traffic and insufficient anti-smog measures are now a situation of “general malaise”, denounces the environmental association, which risks worsening with the start of the autumn-winter season. As for PM10, the threshold 35 days not to be exceeded with a daily average greater than 50 micrograms / cubic meter, it was largely exceeded with at least one of the control units, in 3 of the 13 cities analyzed. They are already in red code Turin, Milan And Padua that they are outside the legal limitsrespectively with 69, 54 and 47 days of overrun. Yellow codeinstead, for Parma (25), Bergamo (23), Rome (23) and Bologna (17) who have already consumed half of the overrun days. To follow, the cities of Palermo and Prato (15), Catania and Perugia (11) and Florence (10) which are already in double figures.

None of the 13 cities monitored as part of the Clean Cities campaign, it also respects the values ​​suggested by the World Health Organization, both for PM10 (15 micrograms / cubic meter) and for PM2.5 (5 micrograms / cubic meter) and NO2 (10 micrograms / cubic meter). PM10 has an annual average, exceeding the WHO value, which fluctuates from + 36% in Perugia, passing through cities such as Bari (+ 53%) and Catania (+ 75%), up to + 121% in Turin and + 122% of Milan. Even more critical situation regarding PM2.5, where the deviation from the WHO values ​​ranges from + 123% in Rome to + 300% in Milan. Bad also for NO2: the excess of the average values ​​recorded with respect to the WHO limit varies between + 97% in Parma up to + 257% in Milan.

Fines from Europe and health problems

A picture, in summary, really worrying, given that – reiterates Legambiente – it is the WHO standards that will adapt the new European Directive on air quality – under review by the end of the year – making theItaly susceptible to new infringement procedures and billion-dollar fines (to be added to the previous three). Not to be overlooked is theimpact on health: air pollution claims more victims in Italy than in the rest of the European continent.

According to the latest estimates of the EEA (European Environment Agency), 17% of deaths from pollution in Europe are in fact Italian (one in 6). To reduce the impact on health and the environment, l‘Europe has set targets for climate neutrality by 2050 (the Action Plan “Towards Zero Emissions”) with the intermediate proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% (compared to 2005) by 2030. But to achieve this, according to the environmental association to liberate cities from smog it is necessary to strengthen alternative green services and vehicles to private cars and implement transport and low-emission zones, as already prepared by the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility. Furthermore, theItaly must accelerate the path of decarbonisation of urban transport which are the main cause of pollution in our cities. The integration between European, national and regional strategies will therefore be fundamental.

Malaria

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by Giacomo Talignani

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“There is no more time to waste. We need to take care of the dramatic condition of the air quality of our urban centers and, at the same time, make our cities safer and more liveable “, he declares Giorgio Zampetti, general manager of Legambiente. “It is necessary to act on two distinct but complementary fronts. The first concerns the formulation of incentive measures that favor the choice of local public transport and other forms of sustainable mobility, as well as disincentives to the use of private cars. The second relates to the formulation of alternative mobility to the car. Above all, it is necessary to accelerate investments in support of Local Public Transport and infrastructures, such as trams and urban railways. The new government therefore has an important challenge ahead of it: to initiate the green transition of the country’s mobility, adopting the guidelines of MIMS ”.

The worsening after the pandemic

“It was a mistake to relax anti-pollution measures in the years of the pandemic. The restart promises to be worse ”, he comments Andrea Poggio, responsible for Mobility of Legambiente. “The traffic limits for the most polluting vehicles are finally back in some cities – such as the Euro4 diesels, or, in Milan, the Euro5 – old, in any case, by 12 years for the former and between 7 and 11 for the latter. But the challenge for Italian cities will be to increase the offer of public transport services and shared electric mobility for everyone, even for those who live in the suburbs. In Italy we have more cars than driving licenses, with a quarter of Europe’s metros, trams and electric buses. Bridging this gap will be the task of the 9 Italian cities that adhere to the ‘Carbon Neutral’ goal for 2030, shared with 100 European cities. Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Bergamo, Padua, Parma, Prato cannot fail, they are our vanguard ”.

Act on mobility

Finally, the report Mal’aria 2022 – autumn edition also contains a focus on ZTL, LEZ, offer of rapid mass transport and on investments in the sector envisaged by the PNRR. 15 Italian cities analyzed: Rome, Turin, Milan, Bergamo, Padua, Bologna, Parma, Genoa, Florence, Prato, Naples, Pescara, Bari, Cagliari and Catania. What emerges, in summary, is that the offer of rapid mass transport (trains, subways, tramways, trolleybuses) borders on sufficiency in most cases. The measures to limit traffic and the circulation of polluting vehicles are often insufficient in terms of scope and effectiveness.

Towards clean mobility. To reduce polluting or climate-altering emissions, Legambiente proposes to reduce the speed limits on motorways from 130 to 100 km / h. An immediate measure that would allow the reduction of both CO emissions₂ 20% and 40% NO2. Then we need the strengthening of the public mobility offer, also and above all of the Rapid Mass Transport. The PNRR which aims to build over 200 km of TRM network – 11 km of subways, 85 km of trams, 120 of trolleybuses – is a start: to bridge the gap with the rest of Europe, another 200 km of subways are needed. (or urban railways), 400 km of trams and as many of trolleybuses.

Public transport, says Legambiente, must be shared and completely electric. The association then asks for the enhancement of sharing mobility services in all metropolitan areas and in cities with over 30,000 inhabitants and on-call services for smaller municipalities; the spread of new digital technologies (from electronic reservations to the first Mobility a as Service projects). The implementation of the Ztl (Limited Traffic Zone) is essential, but above all of Lez (Low emission zone) and Zez (Zero emission zone), following the model of London, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels or Antwerp.

The campaign to free cities from pollution. The Mal’aria Dossier falls within the Clean Cities Campaign in its third edition. An initiative supported by Legambiente together with a European coalition of NGOs, environmental associations, think-tanks, grassroots movements and civil society organizations that aims to achieve zero-emission urban mobility by 2030. The campaign supports active mobility, shared and electric for a more liveable and sustainable urban future, including the phasing out of internal combustion engine vehicles from cities.