Eight national air-quality measures Over the last ten to fifteen years the Dutch government has implemented a variety of measures to improve air quality in our country, augmenting policies at the European level. For eight national policies directed at road traffic between 2006 and 2015 the Netherlands Court of Audit asked CE Delft to assess the cost-effectiveness.
Cost and impact on NOx and PM2.5Together, the eight policies led to an approx. 2% annual reduction in road-traffic emissions of both NOx and PM2.5 in the years from 2006 to 2015. Over the same period European source policy led to a 50% reduction of road-traffic PM2.5 emissions and a 40% reduction in NOx emissions. In comparison, then, the national measures proved relatively ineffective. The analysis showed, however, that for five of the eight measures the costs were lower than the social benefits. While the three other measures, including a scrappage incentive, appear expensive, it should be borne in mind that their main effect is on vehicle emissions in cities, where the air-quality impact is high.