U.S. - EU Air Quality

On February 5-6, 2007, the Transatlantic Cooperation for Clean Air Conference was convened in Brussels by the Atlantic Council of the United States, the European Policy Center and the U.S. Mission to the European Union. This groundbreaking meeting brought together a wide range of experts, including U.S., EU and EU member state policy makers from governmental institutions and regulatory bodies, members of the business community, academe, and non-profit organizations.

Though the U.S. and EU have pursued different approaches to air quality and climate change in the past, strategies are beginning to converge on both sides of the Atlantic. Their policy objectives have become increasingly similar and it is recognized that each can learn from the other’s past experiences.

The Transatlantic Cooperation for Clean Air Conference aimed to:

• Improve understanding among experts of existing and planned clean air and pollution regulatory programs
  
  
• Discuss the impact of these programs on air quality
  
  
• Identify areas of convergence and divergence in U.S. and EU policies and actions
  
  
• Determine opportunities for increased cooperation in addressing the consequences of poor air quality

Many topics, falling into the following three broad categories were discussed:

• The need for renewed transatlantic dialogue
  
  
• The transition of environmental policies
  
  
• The future of transatlantic cooperation on environment and energy

The conference had several important conclusions. Transatlantic cooperation was deemed essential for the development of new technologies, new regulatory frameworks and for reaching out to developing nations, such as China and India, in order to improve air quality and reduce green house gasses worldwide.

Conference Agenda

A summary of the conference was produced in June 2007.