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Milan, Padua, Venice, Brescia and Turin: Five Italians dominate the top ten EU cities where air pollution has the highest cost per capita. This is the figure that comes from the latest report of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), which quantifies the monetary value of premature death, medical treatment, lost working days and other health costs caused by the three most atmospheric pollutants. hazardous: particles, ozone and nitrogen dioxide.
Air pollution costs Italians an average of 1,535 euros per person per year, the NGO study highlights, compared to an average of 1,095 euros for the 432 cities surveyed in 2018. First come the Milanese (second in Europe alone behind the inhabitants of Bucharest), whom the impact of smog costs more than 2,800 euros a year, followed by the Paduans (third in the ranking) with 2,500 euros, the Venetians (sixth), those of Brescia (seventh) and Turin (noni) at around 2,100.
Along with Italians, the inhabitants of the eastern capitals, starting from Bucharest (3000 euros per capita), also pay the highest price for pollution in the EU.
Then Warsaw (2,433 euros per capita), Bratislava (2,168), Sofia (2,084). Monaco is also in 10th place with 1,984 euros.
Other Italian cities follow further down the ranking: Parma, Verona, Bergamo, Cremona and Pavia, where the cost is around 1,800 euros per capita.
Among the trends highlighted by the researchers, who also examined cities in the UK, Norway and Switzerland, it appears that inhabitants of large and expensive cities tend to be most impacted mainly due to population density. A result also confirmed by the European Environment Agency, which reports that air pollution is the main cause of premature death due to environmental factors in Europe (about 400 thousand a year) and the problem is greater in urban centers, where people live. children. two thirds of Europeans. In fact, most cities violate the WHO clean air standards. The main culprits are transport, the pollution of which has cost between 67 and 80 billion euros in 2016 alone for the Member States. Suffice it to say that a 1% increase in the number of cars in a city increases overhead costs by almost 0.5%.
Therefore, Alpha calls for government policies aimed at replacing fossil fuel modes of transportation with more sustainable alternatives, including electric mobility. To finance them, recalls the Alliance, it will be essential to take advantage of the EU funds launched for the crisis linked to Covid. (HANDLE).
