Lombardy Region is one of the most industrialized and populated area in Italy: it has 10 M inhabitants and generates about 21% of the GDP. In such a developed region, pollutants are emitted in the atmosphere by a wide variety of sources mainly related to traffic, domestic heating, industry and energy production sectors, breeding and farming activities. 

Air quality has been a priority since several years. In early 2000s Lombardy set up the Emission Inventory INEMAR – which has been extended to many other Italian Regions at a later time – to monitor and compare over time the emissions in the atmosphere of macro-pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. 

As far as the measurement of the air quality is concerned, 142 monitoring stations have been installed in the whole regional territory, with particular attention to the densely populated and highly trafficked areas. Data are collected on an hourly base and the daily average is published in a user-friendly website managed by the Regional Environmental Agency. (http://www.arpalombardia.it/sites/qaria/_layouts/15/qaria/IModelli.aspx) 

With regard to strategic policies, Lombardy adopted the current Air Quality Plan in 2013, which is now in the process of being updated. The Plan envisages 91 measures to reduce emissions from traffic, stationary sources (industrial plants, residential biomass combustion), buildings, agriculture and breeding sectors. 

Air quality in Lombardy has improved in the recent years: no exceedances of limit values laid down in national and European laws have been detected for sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and benzene. On the contrary, even if according to the 2013-2016 monitoring of the Plan 12% of PM10 and 13% of nitrogen dioxide emissions have been avoided, the limit values for these pollutants have been exceeded in densely urbanized areas. 

The situation is almost the same all over Northern Italy: due both to the meteorological conditions and the morphologic characteristics of the Po Valley, the rural background concentration of pollutants are often high, while a large part of the Particulate Matter is due to secondary production. This affects importantly the effectiveness of the planned measures and calls to stronger joint actions. 

Since 2005 the Po Valley Regions and the Italian Ministry for Environment collaborated in the framework of a Basin Board to improve and integrate air quality policies and, acknowledging the urgent need of more effective measures, a new Basin Agreement on Air Quality have been signed in June 2017 during the G7 Environment Ministerial Meeting

QUOTE Claudia Maria Terzi, Minister for Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development of Lombardy Region 

“Air pollution is a major environmental and health issue affecting people worldwide. Tackling the problem is a common responsibility that we have to face up at each government and society level. Lombardy Region took charge of air pollution question establishing a diffuse emissions monitoring system, implementing long-term planning of measures, cooperating with municipalities and neighbouring regions, sharing initiatives with the business sector and the environmental associations.

Daily working on air pollution prevention, we have realized that transparency is a core value, for at least two reasons. The more awareness is diffuse, the more the people’s contribution to the air quality goals is consistent. Moreover, the availability in a wider context of updated and verifiable data is a key success factor to improve local policies thanks to the exchange of experience, knowledge and mutual learning. 

Therefore, it is with much conviction that Lombardy Region joins the BreatheLife Campaign and commits to share solutions to combat air pollution. I believe that sub-national governments can play a leading role in addressing this challenge, so I welcome the collaboration among nrg4sd and UN Environment aimed at highlighting and sustaining our efforts.”