Second project meeting in Trento

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On March 14 and 15 the second project meeting of PREPAIR will be held in Trento, Italy.

At the meeting, for project partners only, the state of the art of the single actions and the first project deliverables will be presented. The meeting will also be the occasion for presenting and approving within the Steering Committee the Regulation of communication and for the publicizing of project outputs.

Air as a common good: residential biomass heating at the core of Progetto Fuoco

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Wednesday, February 21 from 10:30 AM until 5:30 PM the event “Air as a common good. Policy, Actions and Technologies for reducing Emissions from Residential Wood Burning” will be held at the international fair Progetto Fuoco in Verona, Italy. The event, organized by AIEL (the Italian Association for agroforestry energies), will see the participation of  Lombardy Region,  representative of the four Italian regions signatories of the New Po Valley Agreement and partner of PREPAIR.

The event will be divided in two session: a morning session dedicated to companies and institutions and public policies and innovation, and an afternoon rather technical session dedicated to the guidelines for the emissions reduction of small scale biomass combustion. During the morning session the General Director of Lombardy Region, Gian Luca Gurrieri, will focus on the application of the New Po Valley Agreement  for the biomass sector, one of the core sectors also for PREPAIR actions.

Progetto Fuoco is an international exhibition of systms and equipments for the production of wood-fired heatings.

See the program of the event (simultaneous translation Italian-English available)

 

PREPAIR at the Forum on Eco-innovation in Sofia

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The 21st  European Forum on Eco-innovation is now happening in Sofia, Bulgaria, with the name  “Eco-innovation for air quality”: the Forum (5 and 6 of February, 2018) will examine eco-innovative solutions for improving air quality. The European Commission is committed to addressing air quality and reducing air pollution to levels that do not pose risks to human health and the environment. However, tackling air pollution is a complex and systemic challenge that requires concerted action across societal actors and economic sectors. Efforts undertaken by governments, cities and businesses to implement the Ambient Air Quality Directives can still be greatly boosted by the use of new innovative solutions like advanced technologies for household heating, implementation of strategic urban mobility plans, or pioneering ways to reduce pollution from farming practices.

The two-days Forum foresees a session dedicated to energy and air quality (Energy and air quality converSations), and within its case studies our project lead partner, the Emilia Romagna Region, has been asked to present PREPAIR.

In an exhibition corner communication and information material will also be available. Staff from ERVET, responsible of the project’s communication, will be there for further information or deeper descriptions of the project.

The Forum brings together companies and public authorities that have already succeeded in developing and deploying effective new technologies, or innovative business and governance models, with those who are looking for such solutions and practices. In particular, air pollution originating from energy use, transport and agriculture will be addressed. The issue of how to secure financing for eco-innovative solutions will also be prominently discussed.

This event is jointly organized by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment and the Ministry of Environment and Water of the Republic of Bulgaria.

For more information on the event click here.

See the program of the Forum

PREPAIR steering committee meets the Po Basin Board

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The Steering Committee of PREPAIR will meet in Milan on Tuesday, December 19 in a joint meeting with the Po Basin Board.

The first decisions will be taken by the Steering Committee regarding the implementation of a common monitoring plan of the measures of the regions air quality plans, the actions of the basin agreements of 2013 and 2017, and the actions of PREPAIR.

The rules for the implementation of this moniroing plan will be defined, and the state of the art of the project as well as the first results of the preparatory actions will be presented.

 

Clean Air Forum in Paris

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Clean air is essential for healthy living. The European Union is working to ensure that every citizen can breathe without risking their well-being. Progress has been made over the past decades, but more needs to be done still. The European Commission is committed to address air this, and to achieve levels of air pollution which do not give rise to significant negative impacts on or risks to on human health and the environment. However, tackling air pollution is a complex and systemic challenge that requires concerted action across societal actors and economic sectors, including the energy sector and industrial activities, transport, agricultural production systems, as well as households’ heating and consumption.

The European Clean Air Forum will provide a basis for structured dialogues, exchange of knowledge and good practices, and to enhance capacity of relevant stakeholders to improve air quality. It aims to reflect on the development of policies, projects and programmes in the context of air pollution and air quality, and facilitate the implementation of European, national and local air policies.

The Clean Air Forum will focus on three themes: air quality in cities; air pollution from the agricultural sector; and clean air business opportunities. The conference itself will thus bring together experts on the above topics as well as decision-makers and stakeholders in a two-day conference.

See the programme of the conference

PREPAIR presented in Brussels at the European week of “Regions & Cities”

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It is currently happening in Brussels the 15th edition of the European week dedicated to regions and cities –  #EURegionsWeek 2017 – under the headline “Regions and Cities working for a better future”. From the 10th until the 13th of October 130 workshops debates, project visits and networking events will be taking place; 28 partnerships of regions and cities, 14 Directorates-General of the European Commission, several networks, associations and other institutions have partnered up for it. The program of the week tackles three main themes: Building resilient regions and cities – #LocalResilience; Regions and cities as change agents – #TakeAction; Sharing knowledge to deliver results – #SharingKnowledge.

On Wednesday, October 11, the Emilia-Romagna Region will present PREPAIR within the workshop “Cities in transition – improving urban air quality”, organized by the Committee of the Regions of the European Commission. The workshop will explore some of the options that cities have to improve air quality management, it will highlight some of the challenges cities face when working to improve air quality and present examples how these have been overcome. PREPAIR will be presented during the session “Improving urban air quality – action at regional and city level”.

For further details see the dedicated webpage of the European Commission

Program of the workshop

LIFE-PLATFORM meeting on AIR QUALITY in Barcelona

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The LIFE-PLATFORM meeting on AIR will be held in Barcelona on the 26-27 of September with the title “Abating urban exposure to air pollutants”.

The meeting, hosted by the AIRUSE & IMPROVE LIFE projects and in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) and the European Commission, will be divided in two days and three blocks of sessions: the first on “Urban Air Quality Measures”; the second on “Citizen Exposure while Commuting”, and the third one on “Models and Tools for Air Quality Management”.

PREPAIR will be presented on this occasion, within the third block of sessions, by the project partner Province of Trento.

Program of the event

Next project meeting in Venice

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The second project meeting of PREPAIR will be held in Venice on the 28th and 29th of September, 2017.

The meeting, open to the project partners only, will have a focus on the state of the art of the project activities as well as the ongoing administrative procedures.

The new antismog agreement for the improvement of air quality in the Po Basin was signed in Bologna

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The international launch conference of PREPAIR ended with an important institutional moment: the Italian Minister of the Environment Gian Luca Galletti together with the regions of Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto signed the “New agreement for the coordinated adoption of measures for the improvement of air quality in the Po Basin”. Heart of this agreement is the common fight against air pollution, a particular intense problem in Northern Italy. The agreement aims at structural measures to be developed in the same way within the four regions – homogeneous rules of access in the “limited traffic zones”, car-sharing,  cycle-pedestrian mobility, diffuse distribution of alternative fuels, restrictions on circulation – in order to give concrete answers to an area of over 23 million residents (40% of the Italian population).  The management of emergency situations related to the overcoming of the PM10 pollution limits has also been shared, with common and homogeneous temporary prohibitions.

The agreement has been signed by the Italian Minister of the Environment, Gian Luca Galletti, and by the Presidents of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, and Piedmont Region, Sergio Chiamparino, and by the regional environmental ministers of Lombardy Region, Claudia Terzi, and Veneto Region, Gianpaolo Bottacin. The regional environmental ministers of Emilia-Romagna, Paola Gazzolo, and Piedmont, Alberto Valmaggia, were also there.

PREPAIR and the New Anti-Smog Agreement against air pollution in the Po Basin

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On June 8 and 9 the initial conference of the LIFE Integrated project PREPAIR has been held in Bologna, at the Emilia Romagna Region headquarters. Over thirty national and international speakers have participated to the two-days event, the European Commission was represented by Guido De Wilt for the DG Environment and Andrea Tilche for the DG Research and Innovation and the Slovenian and Italian Environment Ministries by Uros Vajgl and Gian Luca Galletti. During the first day of the conference, the five thematic pillars on which the project will act – agriculture, transports, biomass, energy efficiency and monitoring – have been presented by the respective people in charge, and several stakeholders (who will give their contribution throughout the whole project by taking part to the Stakeholder Board) discussed of the project actions that will be implemented in the next seven years. The networking with other European projects has also been stressed, as PREPAIR will build on previous successful experiences too.

The second day of the conference, a rather political-institutional event, ended with the signature of the “New Agreement for the coordinated and joint adoption of measures for the improvement of air quality in the Po basin” by the Regions of Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto at the presence of the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Gian Luca Galletti.

See the speakers presentations

See the interview of Guido De Wilt – European Commission, DG Environment

See the photo gallery