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05 July 2017
EU
- Air Quality

 

Patients need to be informed about the air we breathe indoors and this need might be included in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, currently under revision. Several forward thinking MEPS have taken into consideration EFA’s asks to integrate the health dimension into all policies, and have proposed amendments to set up an Indoor Air Quality Performance Certificate that, if adopted, could become an obligatory and reliable source of information and control of indoor air quality in the European Union.

With 90% of people’s lives spent indoors, there is growing evidence that indoor environmental quality is critical to our health and wellbeing. Poor air quality in Europe has been considered responsible for 2 million healthy years lost every year. The situation is particularly problematic for people with allergy, asthma and COPD, who are the first to react to bad indoor air quality.

Given that the European Commission proposal to review the EPBD does not include any health consideration in the text, EFA in consultation with our Environmental Determinants working group and our Members, has contacted the MEPs to advocate for the inclusion of health considerations into the building renovation and construction sector. The EPBD represents a one-in-a-decade opportunity to improve patients’ quality of life by guaranteeing a healthy indoor air quality in closed spaces.  

Both the industry (ITRE) and environment and health (ENVI) committees at the European Parliament have proposed a certificate to measure, assess and classify indoor air quality based on the presence of pollutants and the environmental conditions affecting them. More specifically, we are calling to ensure that contaminants such as volatile organic compounds, CO2, ozone, temperature and humidity will be safely certificated in the new revised directive.   

EFA and its Members will continue to present this need to other MEPs to inform as many political representatives as possible before the voting day, around October 2017. 

For any additional information please contact Daniela at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Please find the ITRE proposed amendment number 483 here