Air Quality Management in EU Member States Governance and Institutional Arrangements: International Experience and Implications

Climate and air pollution policies are often treated separately, resulting in tensions and missed opportunities for more cost-effective outcomes. In most client countries, responsibilities for air quality and for climate are divided amongst institutions, hindering efforts to co-develop integrated policies. As a result, trade-offs arise between mitigation and AQM, meaning that air pollution policies do not effectively contribute to climate goals and vice versa. By implementing targeted, integrated AQM and climate policy tools, countries can achieve more coherent policy outcomes, reduce costs at both the institutional and industry levels, and drive better
results for both climate and air quality.
The objective of this technical note is to inform the governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania about ongoing efforts and opportunities to strengthen AQM governance to achieve better air quality in these countries. To this end, the note develops a framework by which to assess institutional capacity for effective and efficient AQM. The framework consists of 16 components organized around five attributes and a set of guidance questions to carry out the assessment.