Piedmont's air quality plan at Cop31 in Antalya
Date of the event:
On 10 November 2026, at the Italy Pavilion of Cop31 in Antalya, Turkey, the Piedmont Region's councillor for the Environment, Matteo Marnati, presents two regional initiatives: the new regional air quality plan (Piano regionale della qualità dell'aria, PRQA) and the Patto del Verbano agreement on managing the water resources of Lake Maggiore. Both concern the Piedmont area, including the Metropolitan City of Turin, which is involved in the technical governance of the air plan. [1][2]
The air quality plan
The update to the PRQA, approved by the Regional Council on 28 July 2026, repeals the measure that provided for a structural ban on the circulation of Euro 5 diesel vehicles in municipalities with more than 30,000 residents. In its place, the plan introduces compensatory measures, designed to ensure emission reductions consistent with EU constraints, without ruling out possible temporary anti-smog measures separate from the structural measure. [2]
The choice marks a change from 2023, when the President of the Region, Alberto Cirio, and Marnati himself had described the ban on Euro 5 diesel vehicles as unavoidable. The subsequent regulatory framework made it possible to replace the ban with alternative measures. [2]
The measures listed include extending incentives for HVO fuel to private cars, systems to retrofit existing vehicles with SCR technology, action on urban mobility, winter cover crops in agriculture, and measures on biomass heating and on reducing ammonia from livestock waste. The Regional Council's resolution estimates the overall increase in regional spending for these measures at 43.33 million euros, while a Region statement on the plan's approval had cited more than 100 million euros for related activities and calls, without the relationship between the two figures being made clear. [2]
A task force has been set up to implement the plan, involving the regional directorates, Arpa Piemonte, Ires, the provinces, the Metropolitan City of Turin, the Politecnico, the universities and research bodies. According to a preliminary assessment of 2025 data, not yet validated, the annual limit for nitrogen dioxide was met across the whole of Piedmont, while for PM10 six monitoring stations had recorded exceedances of the daily limit, four of them in urban traffic areas. [1][2]
The Patto del Verbano
Marnati also presented the Patto del Verbano, a two-year agreement with no additional costs signed on 4 June 2026 between the water utilities Acqua Novara.Vco and Alfa, which operate on the two shores of Lake Maggiore. The agreement provides for shared laboratories and monitoring of micropollutants, forms of mutual assistance for emergency work, and cost reductions through cooperation between the utilities. Lake Maggiore, regulated by the Miorina dam, has a storage capacity put by the Region at around 400 million cubic metres. The stated goal is to extend the cooperation to Swiss partners and research bodies such as the CNR. [1]
Sources
- ANSA Piemonte — 10 November 2026
- Quotidiano Piemontese — 10 November 2026