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Brussels tackles freight emissions through partnership

24 April 2023

by Christopher Carey

A series of new initiatives aimed at improving air quality for residents throughout Belgium’s capital has been announced by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.

This next phase of the Brussels Clean Air Partnership, launched in 2020, will support the city’s efforts to tackle air pollution through projects including: the creation of an incubator for innovation in low-emission urban logistics; training to educate and create awareness of urban mobility and cycling in schools; measuring the impact of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) on public health; and the development of an air quality modelling tool.

“Air pollution threatens our health and that of our planet – it is our duty to do everything we can so that the people of Brussels can breathe clean air and live in a healthy environment,” said Alain Maron, Brussels’ Minister for the Environment and Climate Transition.

“These are collective solutions, and the uniqueness of our partnership builds upon the contributions of a variety of actors.

“Thanks to this partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are taking concrete action on our mobility to make it more sustainable so that everyone can get around easily without polluting.”

Incubator

Air pollution is responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths in Europe each year, including nearly 9,000 in Belgium alone, according to the European Environment Agency.

The transport of goods in Brussels is mainly done by road, with a consequent negative impact on the environment and health.

Every day, 16,000 trucks and 26,000 delivery vans travel through the city, and while freight transport represents only 17 percent of traffic, it is responsible for 28 percent of PM2.5, 34 percent of NOx emissions, and about 25 percent of traffic-related CO2 emissions.

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and its Mobilise Research Group will create an incubator for pilot projects to reduce emissions from the logistics sector.

Cathy Macharis, Professor at the VUB and coordinator of the Mobilise Research Group, said: “Freight transport costs €60,000 every day to the public health system.

“Children and elderly people are the most affected by air pollution from freight transport in Brussels.

“Companies are already doing a lot – we see this among the pioneers of ‘Green Deal Logistics’ – with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support, we can give further impetus to innovative collaborations that can significantly reduce the impact of logistics on our health.”

Early results

Last year, results from a citizen-led air quality project in Brussels revealed a striking disparity in pollution levels across the city.

The CurieuzenAir initiative – backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies – found that socio-economically vulnerable neighbourhoods were more likely to suffer from high pollution levels.

Between 25 September and 23 October 2021, 3,000 residents mapped the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a key indicator of air pollution caused by traffic – in their streets via measuring tubes outside their homes.

While a slight drop in overall pollution was observed, there were stark differences in its distribution across the city.

Using an interactive dot map, each measuring point was assigned a colour corresponding to the value measured.

CurieuzenAir found that 1.4 per cent of Brussels citizens – 17,000 people – are exposed to air quality exceeding the 40 µg/m3 European air quality standards.

Additionally, 98.4 per cent of the population – 1.2 million inhabitants – live or work in areas exposed to pollution above the World Health Organization’s new threshold value of above 10 µg m-3, showing the broad impact of air pollution on the community’s public health.

“Air pollution kills hundreds of thousands of people across Europe every year,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP.

“By expanding our partnership with the region of Brussels, we will help empower local leaders with the tools they need to target and reduce air pollution, fight climate change, and save lives.”

Image: stephanie-leblanc-unsplash

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