The
Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform, a joint initiative of the European Committee of
the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission (EC),
held its second meeting on 25 April with a focus on
health and the
Zero Pollution Action Plan
as a key driver for the reduction of water, air and
soil pollution and of health inequalities in the
EU.
Health inequalities in the EU can and must be urgently
addressed, in particular through the Zero Pollution
Action Plan and its dedicated flagship initiative
focusing on "Reducing health inequalities through zero
pollution". This was one of the key messages shared by
the participants of the second
Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform
on 25 April, who underlined the dramatic impact that
environmental pollution has on human health – as 17% of
lung cancer deaths are linked to air pollution and 11%
of premature deaths in the EU are due to environmental
pollution. In addition to reducing water, air and soil
pollution, a key objective of the
newly created platform is therefore to contribute to
improving public health and to reducing health
inequalities, as specific groups of citizens are more
exposed or vulnerable to pollution and its impact on
health.
Marieke Schouten
(NL/Greens), Co-Chair of the Zero Pollution Stakeholder
Platform and Alderman of the municipality of
Nieuwegein, said: "
The Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform is a
crucial step towards achieving the Green Deal
ambitions of the European Union. Ensuring equal
access to health for all EU citizens through zero
pollution is essential to work towards more
resilience and an environmentally friendly Europe.
Science and innovation are innovative tools and
important inputs for concrete actions to fight
pollution."
Marieke Schouten,
CoR rapporteur on zero pollution
further emphasized that the different thematic areas
and activities on zero pollution are coherent with the
CoR's
Green Deal Going Local
flagship initiative.
Patrick Child,
Deputy Director General of DG Environment
of the European Commission and Co-Chair of the Zero
Pollution Stakeholder Platform, said:
"The European Green Deal including the work that we
are doing on zero pollution is even more necessary
against the background of the present crisis and
the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The challenge of
energy security addressed in the Commission’s
RePowerEU strategy calls for rapid acceleration of
decarbonisation and deployment of renewable energy,
which should have direct benefits for the EU’s zero
pollution goals. This platform ensures we advance
hand in hand with vital partners and stakeholders
to secure the fullest possible benefits to citizens
in term of environmental protection and public
health."
The Executive Director of the European Environment
Agency
Hans Bruyninckx
stressed that: "
There is a slow but continuous process towards the
zero pollution ambition. We need to improve health
across the European Union while reducing
inequalities.
" He further highlighted the need to prevent diseases
provoked or made worse by pollution, including through
the Zero Pollution Action Plan, so as to provide a
better quality of life to EU citizens, while protecting
the environment.
Members of the platform also discussed the Commission
proposals under the
Sustainable Products Initiative
and for a revised
Industrial Emissions Directive. These initiatives aim to reduce pollution and to
ensure more circular production and consumption cycles,
in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
Participants pointed out that science and innovation
offer new solutions to tackle environmental pollution
and that these innovations need to be deployed and
implemented, in particular, at the local and regional
level.
Presenting his
CoR opinion on Horizon Europe Missions
, the President of the Helsinki Region,
Markku Markkula
(FI/EPP) underlined that the ‘Missions’ are a new and
vital instrument that can have a strong impact on
reaching the zero pollution target. He stressed that
“we must build a new working culture based on
knowledge sharing in order to reduce the gap
between academia, industrial experts and
policymakers”. The former CoR president concluded
by recalling that "Foresight activities are
important to understand large flows of information
and to implement shared knowledge by combining
culture, learning, capacity building and research.
There is a need for more investment in Research and
Innovation to develop our carbon handprint – that
is able to counterbalance pollution and our carbon
footprint. For that we must involve industrial
partners and business actors."
The meeting was also the occasion to discuss the
adoption of the Platform’s Work Programme 2022-2024.
The 3rd meeting of the Zero Pollution Stakeholder
Platform is scheduled in October 2022.The invitation
for the next meeting and information on workshops and
other events are available on the Platform’s
web page.
Background:
The first meeting of the Zero Pollution Stakeholder
Platform took place on 16 December 2021 with the
presence of the Commissioner for the Environment,
Oceans and Fisheries
Virginijus Sinkevičius
and the President of the European Committee of the
Regions and Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia
in Greece,
Apostolos Tzitzikostas. You can read the press release
here
and watch the session
here.
Watch the session here:
Contacts:
David Crous
Tel. +32 (0)470 881 037
David.Crous@cor.europa.eu
Theresa Sostmann
Tel. +32 2282 2457
Theresa.Sostmann@cor.europa.eu