ACTRIS IT Sparks Dialogue on Air Quality Directive and Research Synergies

ACTRIS IT, the Italian Consortium of ACTRIS, organized the event “Towards the New European Air Quality Directive: Dialogue and Synergies between Research Infrastructures, Local Authorities, and Environmental Agencies,” held on 7–8 April 2025 at the central headquarters of the National Research Council (CNR) in Rome.

Supported by the ITINERIS (Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System) project, the event focused on the forthcoming European Air Quality Directive and explored how national research infrastructures can support its implementation, particularly through automated analysis of the newly introduced parameters.

The event also featured the results of the European project RI-URBANS (riurbans.eu), highlighting selected ‘Service Tools’ developed within the project and showcasing examples of past and ongoing collaborations between research infrastructures and environmental agencies.

Over the two days, more than 120 stakeholders participated, including representatives from the research community, 14 Regional Environmental Protection Agencies (ARPAs), and the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

The event fostered dialogue on strengthening cooperation between research infrastructures, environmental agencies, and local authorities in the context of the new Directive. In particular, ACTRIS observational sites were identified as potential key contributors to the national air quality monitoring system, supporting regional agencies. Discussions also addressed how research infrastructure expertise—such as profiling techniques—can help agencies identify particulate sources more effectively.