Breathing cleaner air in Eastern Europe

Air Quality Governance (AIR-Q-GOV) in the ENPI East Countries

From specialized training to gap analyses of existing relevant policy, we provided supports that allowed Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Russian Federation to increase their convergence to European Union environmental standards. One in a series of regional governance projects launched by the European Commission, the Air Quality Governance project’s goal was to reinforce each countries’ legal framework and human capacities to manage air quality systems and implement multilateral environment agreements, thus allowing populations and their neighbors to breathe cleaner air and contribute to the reduction of the ozone layer hole.

Considering the scale of the project and breadth of countries involved, organization was paramount. Preparation of pilot projects, support for the implementation of Best Available Techniques and best practices for selected industrial sectors, and assistance to policy papers and regulations being drafted are just a selection of the supportive services we provided in order to facilitate the success of the project. As a final touch, we also contributed to the development of the instruments for European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East countries to reduce industrial emissions, and provided the mechanisms to encourage smarter and cleaner urban mobility.