Magdalena Tomala is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Computer Modelling, Kielce University of Technology, Poland. She conducts research on governance in public policies and international relations. Her main areas of research are issues of economy, sustainable development, ecology, and international cooperation. She is the author of the monographs Greenland, in the System of International Relations in the Light of Immanuel Wallerstein's Systems-Worlds Theory (2016) and Sustainable Development of the Baltic Sea Region (2020); she has co-authored The Northern Dimension of the European Union. Political and Legal Study (2009), Politics and Development in the North American Arctic (2021), and Public Policy and the Impact of COVID-19 in Europe (2022).Katarzyna Dośpiał-Borysiak is an associate professor at the University of Lodz (Poland), Faculty of International and Political Studies. She specializes in sustainable development, climate policies, and regionalism. Her main geographical scope for research is the European Union, especially Nordic countries and Poland. She is the author of three books covering various regional perspectives – for example, Civic and Uncivic Values in Poland: Value Transformation, Education, and Culture (2019, co-edited with Sabrina Ramet and Kristen Ringdal) – and over 50 scientific articles, chapters, and reviews.

• Introduction Chapter I. Green and smart – the development of the European union’s environmental policies Chapter II. Ever cleaner union and the air protection concept Chapter III. Trends of air pollution in the European Union – comparative perspective Chapter IV. In-depth case studies Appendix Index

Magdalena Tomala is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Computer Modelling, Kielce University of Technology, Poland. She conducts research on governance in public policies and international relations. Her main areas of research are issues of economy, sustainable development, ecology, and international cooperation. She is the author of the monographs Greenland, in the System of International Relations in the Light of Immanuel Wallerstein's Systems-Worlds Theory (2016) and Sustainable Development of the Baltic Sea Region (2020); she has co-authored The Northern Dimension of the European Union. Political and Legal Study (2009), Politics and Development in the North American Arctic (2021), and Public Policy and the Impact of COVID-19 in Europe (2022).Katarzyna Dośpiał-Borysiak is an associate professor at the University of Lodz (Poland), Faculty of International and Political Studies. She specializes in sustainable development, climate policies, and regionalism. Her main geographical scope for research is the European Union, especially Nordic countries and Poland. She is the author of three books covering various regional perspectives – for example, Civic and Uncivic Values in Poland: Value Transformation, Education, and Culture (2019, co-edited with Sabrina Ramet and Kristen Ringdal) – and over 50 scientific articles, chapters, and reviews.

• Introduction Chapter I. Green and smart – the development of the European union’s environmental policies Chapter II. Ever cleaner union and the air protection concept Chapter III. Trends of air pollution in the European Union – comparative perspective Chapter IV. In-depth case studies Appendix Index

Magdalena Tomala is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Computer Modelling, Kielce University of Technology, Poland. She conducts research on governance in public policies and international relations. Her main areas of research are issues of economy, sustainable development, ecology, and international cooperation. She is the author of the monographs Greenland, in the System of International Relations in the Light of Immanuel Wallerstein's Systems-Worlds Theory (2016) and Sustainable Development of the Baltic Sea Region (2020); she has co-authored The Northern Dimension of the European Union. Political and Legal Study (2009), Politics and Development in the North American Arctic (2021), and Public Policy and the Impact of COVID-19 in Europe (2022).Katarzyna Dośpiał-Borysiak is an associate professor at the University of Lodz (Poland), Faculty of International and Political Studies. She specializes in sustainable development, climate policies, and regionalism. Her main geographical scope for research is the European Union, especially Nordic countries and Poland. She is the author of three books covering various regional perspectives – for example, Civic and Uncivic Values in Poland: Value Transformation, Education, and Culture (2019, co-edited with Sabrina Ramet and Kristen Ringdal) – and over 50 scientific articles, chapters, and reviews.

• Introduction Chapter I. Green and smart – the development of the European union’s environmental policies Chapter II. Ever cleaner union and the air protection concept Chapter III. Trends of air pollution in the European Union – comparative perspective Chapter IV. In-depth case studies Appendix Index