As EU member states, regional and local authorities prepare to implement the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), this briefing by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) argues that decision-makers and authorities should pay particular attention to addressing socio-economic inequalities in their clean air efforts. The swift transposition and implementation of the new rules, with strengthened administrative collaboration and the full utilisation of financial support schemes, promise significant progress towards cleaner air across Europe. Improved air quality will be beneficial to everyone and contribute to preventing health inequalities for those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
Over the past days, MEPs held confirmation hearings with Vice-President-designate Ribera, Vice-President-designate Séjourné and Commissioner-designate Hoekstra, whose complementary and mutually enabling portfolios respectively focus on “Clean, Just and Competitive Transition”, “Prosperity and Industrial Strategy” and “Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth”.
People’s health is threatened like never before by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. The scientific evidence on how the triple crisis threatens and already impacts people’s health across the European Union has steadily increased and underlines the need for urgent action to prevent further suffering’ and economic impacts. The health of children, the elderly, those living with disease, and those experiencing socio-economic disadvantages and health inequalities is particularly at risk.
HEAL was therefore encouraged to see strong coherence among the three designates on their shared commitment to protecting health against this triple crisis.
Together, across these three hearings, they paved the way towards tangible and targeted EU action to prevent ill-health and disease, firmly grounded in science.
Action is urgently needed for the following:
- Reducing pollution from a cocktail of substances in the air, food, water and earth
- Tackling health inequalities with a view to addressing the unequal distribution of climate and environmental risks, and strengthening resilience
- Preserving the ambition of existing EU standards, staying on course on climate, environmental goals, and not deregulating in simplification efforts
- Putting forward the long-promised health-protective update of the EU chemicals law REACH
- Restricting harmful substances such as PFAS, which are among the most hazardous chemicals present everywhere in our daily life
- Placing health at the centre of EU climate action, especially for the foreseen work on adaptation (including possible legislation)
- Advancing the fossil fuel phase out, and tackling health and climate harmful subsidies
In the face of the accelerating triple crisis, the growing cost of inaction or delayed action and the urgency to act, it is high time that the new EU Commission takes office and starts to deliver. In that, we need to see more than simply staying on course in the Commission Work Programme for 2025. Specific actions and measures are needed to cut down people’s exposure to hazardous chemicals and pesticides, as well as to reduce emissions which fuel climate change and air pollution.
HEAL calls on MEPs to finalise the hearings process swiftly, and focus on health protection from climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss as the guiding principle in the new EU policy cycle.
Related Posts
