• The guide, produced by IDAEA, addresses air pollution in sectors such as transport, construction, industry, and agriculture and livestock

  • The document provides a practical framework for designing reduction strategies in line with the new European Air Quality Directive

Bay of A Coruña. | Xavier Querol

The Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) has produced the Guide for the development of air quality improvement plans (Guía para la elaboración de planes de mejora de la calidad del aire, in Spanish) for the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This document provides a practical framework for designing strategies and corrective measures to tackle air pollution in different activity sectors.

Aimed at air quality managers and with a clear focus on public policy, the guide highlights the importance of the new European Air Quality Directive, which seeks to set limit values more closely aligned with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In this new guide, we explain the problem for each type of pollutant, the scale at which measures should be applied, and we propose specific updates in more sectors than those previously considered,” says Xavier Querol, IDAEA researcher and one of the guide’s authors.

The guide addresses 7 key sectors

The main proposed measures by sector include:

  1. Road traffic: implementation of Low Emission Zones (ZBEs, in Spanish), improved public transport, promotion of electric and active mobility, urban tolls, and redesign of public space.

  2. Construction: use of low-emission machinery, techniques to reduce dust generation, and control of traffic associated with construction sites.

  3. Industry: modernisation of facilities to improve energy efficiency and emissions treatment, and alignment with the new requirements of the Industrial Emissions Directive.

  4. Agriculture and livestock: adjustments to animal feed formulation, farm design, waste management, and technologies for applying organic fertilisers.

  5. Biomass burning: use of certified stoves and boilers, specific measures for agricultural and industrial biomass combustion, and control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emissions in industrial plants.

  6. Ports: electrification of docks, modernisation of fleets, optimisation of port operations, and reduction of emissions during bulk material handling.

  7. Airports: optimised landing and take-off procedures, use of electric service vehicles, improved energy efficiency of facilities, and promotion of rail for short-distance travel.

In their sectoral analysis, the authors note that road traffic has made significant technological progress in improving the environmental performance of vehicles, but traffic density has not decreased substantially. In fact, although mobility plans forecasted reductions of 25–30%, these have not been achieved. They also point out that agriculture and livestock is the sector that has reduced its emissions the least, especially ammonia.

“In domestic and residential biomass burning, not only have effective measures not been applied, but in some cases, air quality has actually worsened,” says Querol. “We need clear legislation to regulate boiler emissions and require the use of appropriate biomass.”

Download the guide (in Spanish)

Querol, X., González, I., Reche, C., Alastuey, A., Monfort, E., Celades, I., … Miró, J. V. (2025). Guía para la elaboración de planes de mejora de la calidad del aire. CSIC – Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA). http://doi.org/10.20350/DIGITALCSIC/17211