The air quality in Eindhoven has improved since 2021, reveals the audit office’s Air Quality study. However, questions about the amount of nitrogen in the air still lingers.
Air quality measurements focus on the amount of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in the air. The latter has gone down since 2021.
The improvement in air quality is partly due to better traffic flow on the ring road around Eindhoven, the introduction of an environmental zone and the electrification of public transport. Making the city centre car-free also contributes. The results indicate that air quality will meet the expected values in 2030, reports the Municipal Executive.
Nitrogen
The recommended Nitrogen exposure limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) would have risen in 2030 because those values will become two times stricter in 2023 than in 2021. However, there are question marks as to whether the nitrogen target for 2030 will be achieved. Eindhoven reports a decreasing trend in the presence of nitrogen in the air. In calculations for 2030, this sometimes increases and sometimes decreases – something that also fits in with the national picture. RIVM is unable to explain these deviations. If a deviation is found again during a new measurement, a national investigation will follow, the Board reports.
New projects
Finally, the city council says that many projects on the list should also contribute to better air quality. Introducing a zero-emission zone, reducing emissions at Eindhoven Airport, encouraging bicycle and public transport use, making taxi transport more sustainable, and scrapping schemes for old vans, mopeds and scooters and fireworks-free old and new, among other things, should contribute to cleaner air in the city in the coming years.
C02 neutral, difficult story
Although the air quality has improved, it is highly questionable whether the climate goals set by the city council for 2030 will be achieved. Enexis informed Studio040 on Wednesday that due to the large capacity shortage of the power grid, a CO2-neutral city will be a very difficult story that year.
