Individual right to clean and healthy air in the EU

The report argues that while not explicitly stated, the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) grants EU citizens a right to air quality within legal limit values. It identifies significant barriers to justice in several Member States and advocates for the use of the Francovich doctrine to allow individuals to seek compensation for health damages. ClientEarth recommends that the European Commission explicitly codify this individual right in the revised AAQD, introduce coercive remedies for non-compliance, and alleviate the burden of proof for claimants seeking damages.

• EU citizens have a right to air quality where pollutant levels do not exceed the limit values established under Article 13 and Annex XI of the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD).
• The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has established that Articles 13 and 23 of the AAQD confer rights that individuals can invoke directly before national courts, as these provisions are designed to protect human health.
• Despite CJEU case law, access to justice remains obstructed in some jurisdictions, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe; specifically, ClientEarth notes barriers in Bulgaria, Poland, and Hungary.
• Existing remedies in some Member States are insufficient to force compliance; for example, the Czech Republic lacks the power to set deadlines for new air quality plans, and German financial penalties are too low to be dissuasive.
• Under the Francovich doctrine of State liability, Member States can be held liable to compensate individuals for damages if the breach of EU law is 'sufficiently serious', the rule was intended to confer rights, and there is a causal link.
• Breaches of Article 13 and 23 of the AAQD are likely to be considered 'sufficiently serious' because the rules are precise, leave Member States with little to no discretion, and involve critical public health risks.
• Establishing a causal link between air pollution and individual health damage is difficult due to information asymmetries; the report suggests adopting the European Court of Human Rights' approach of using rebuttable presumptions and flexible standards of proof.
• ClientEarth recommends that the revised AAQD explicitly codify the individual right to air quality and introduce coercive measures, such as time-based penalties, to ensure Member State compliance.

APA

ClientEarth (2021). Individual right to clean and healthy air in the EU. https://www.clientearth.org/media/adtcznde/individual-right-to-clean-and-healthy-air-in-the-eu-pdf.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Individual right to clean and healthy air in the EU. 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/adtcznde/individual-right-to-clean-and-healthy-air-in-the-eu-pdf.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Individual right to clean and healthy air in the EU |date=June 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/adtcznde/individual-right-to-clean-and-healthy-air-in-the-eu-pdf.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2021individual, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Individual right to clean and healthy air in the EU}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/adtcznde/individual-right-to-clean-and-healthy-air-in-the-eu-pdf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }