Event highlights
The 2025 annual meeting of the Joint Task Force on the Health Aspects of Air Pollution gathered virtually 50 participants representing 27 Member States and 4 intergovernmental organizations to share information and updates or air quality and health and to review recent progress in the health risk assessment of air pollution under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE Air Convention).
Air pollution in an evolving context
The Head of the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Ms Francesca Racioppi, opened the meeting by pointing to the increased attention to air quality following the Second WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health (March 2025) and the adoption by the World Health Assembly of the Updated road map for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects of air pollution (May 2025). The road map includes a voluntary target to halve the health impacts from anthropogenic air pollution by 2040, compared to the 2015 baseline.
She also reflected on the political momentum for advocacy, since air pollution has become a compelling entry point for advocacy efforts to address climate change. The health benefits associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants can galvanize political support, highlighting the interconnections among air quality, climate change and public health.
Ms Racioppi confirmed air quality as a priority in the WHO European Region, as stated in the Budapest Declaration and reflected in both the Second European Programme of Work and the Fourteenth General Programme of Work for the next 5 years.
Bringing the health perspective in an environmental convention
The UNECE Air Convention is the only regional agreement to tackle air pollution that has health specifically integrated in the science policy framework through the Joint Task Force on the Health Aspects of Air Pollution.
The role and experience of the Task Force in advancing knowledge on air quality and health and providing tools for health risk assessment of air pollution are recognized in a new WHO Air Quality, Energy and Health Science and Policy Summary – Transboundary cooperation for our shared air: protecting public health. The summary provides a global mapping of transboundary cooperation on air pollution with a focus on leveraging health in such agreements and identifies next steps.
Key takeaways
International policies and processes for air quality and health
- The revised European Union (EU) Ambient Air Quality Directive, which entered into force in December 2024, marks significant progress in the EU clean air policy. It sets stricter air quality standards for 2030 and beyond, aligning them more closely with the WHO global air quality guidelines. EU Member States must transpose the Directive by December 2026.
- The ongoing revision of the Air Convention Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone aims to reduce transboundary air pollution by setting legally binding commitments to reduce emissions of several pollutants. The Task Force on Health is providing input and cooperating with other task forces and bodies under the Convention.
Progress in research on health risk assessment of air pollution
Progress was shared on 2 ongoing WHO projects – on the update of the Health Risks of Air Pollution in Europe (HRAPIE-2) and the Estimation of Morbidity from Air Pollution and its Economic Costs (EMAPEC).
- HRAPIE-2 provides key updates on concentration-response functions, which describe how different levels of air pollution impact mortality outcomes, as well as more specific advice on health risk assessment. During the meeting, findings from newly published systematic reviews of the long-term health effects of exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide and ozone were presented.
- For EMAPEC, the discussion focused on a proposed methodology for economic assessment, selected morbidity outcomes and illustrative case studies at both national and local levels.
Advances in research related to the good practice statements of the WHO global air quality guidelines
New findings were presented on the health effects of both short- and long-term exposure to black carbon, ultrafine particles and desert dust.
For these pollutants, air quality guideline levels were not defined due to limited evidence at the time. Instead, good practice statements were formulated to advance monitoring efforts, mitigation of exposure and future research, reflecting the growing scientific interest and the related health concerns. The findings indicated the need for improved exposure metrics and further research to strengthen the evidence of the health risks associated with these pollutants.
Country experiences
- France estimated the potential reduction in morbidity and the associated economic benefits corresponding to a reduction in PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide levels aligned with the WHO global air quality guidelines. The estimated reduction at both national and regional level highlights the need for public engagement and a coordinated strategy to bring health benefits.
- Georgia used WHO’s AirQ+ tool to estimate the number of preventable deaths attributable to a reduction in PM levels in urban areas in line with the WHO global air quality guidelines. The estimates emphasize the need to integrate health considerations into air quality policies and urban planning to achieve health improvements, while also informing the public to promote individual action.
- A WHO/Europe-coordinated study in Georgia focused on applying behavioural and cultural insights to address air pollution risks for health. The study revealed high public awareness of risks and identified barriers, particularly among vulnerable groups, to taking protective actions, highlighting the relevance of effective communication strategies.
Event notice
Air pollution is one of the main risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. Its main sources, such as combustion of fossil fuels, are also key drivers of climate change. Air pollutants travel beyond borders, posing a challenge that cannot be addressed through local action alone. International cooperation is therefore essential to sustainably address the double risk to both health and the climate.
At its annual meeting, the Joint Task Force on the Health Aspects Air Pollution, led by WHO, gathers representatives from Parties to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, as well as other experts and stakeholders, to share information and updates. As a relevant platform to exchange knowledge and information, the Task Force plays an important role in supporting the implementation of the regional commitments on air quality, climate change and health made at the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (2023).
On the agenda
- International policies and processes for air quality and health, including the revised European Union Ambient Air Quality Directive, updates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Air Convention Secretariat, and relevant WHO activities, such as the Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health and the updated Road Map for an Enhanced Global Response to the Adverse Health Effects of Air Pollution, which is expected to be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
- Progress in research on health risk assessment of air pollution, particularly on ongoing WHO projects, such as the update of the Health Risks of Air Pollution in Europe (HRAPIE-2) and Estimating the Morbidity from Air Pollution and its Economic Costs (EMAPEC).
- Advances in research related to the good practice statements of the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines on black carbon, ultrafine particles, desert dust and sandstorms –focusing on new evidence on the health effects of exposure to these pollutants.
- Updates on WHO tools for health risk assessment of air pollution (AirQ+ and CLIMAQ-H), including their use and capacity-building activities.
Participants will also share relevant country experiences and discuss the draft Task Force workplan for 2026–2027.