The leaked EU Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 draft does not include a mention of health once, and climate change as mere lip service, even though climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss are estimated to be responsible for almost 20 percent of deaths in the European region according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and add to a huge burden of acute and chronic disease.
One wonders what makes this agenda ‘strategic’, if it fails to incorporate the value of prevention before the damage is done.
The impact of climate change and pollution to health is likely to affect everyone over the course of a lifespan, with some being more vulnerable than others, such as children, pregnant women, the elderly and those already suffering from illness. The socio-economic differences between EU countries and people also mean some are hit harder than others.
The environmental health sector is indignant about the rollback of ambition to address climate change and pollution. We urge the EU to include and prioritise both climate and environmental action for healthier people and a healthier planet.
Pollution, from a cocktail of substances, impacts all our health, whether the pollutants are airborne, in products, or in food and water. Negative health impacts such as cancer, infertility, impaired immune-, hormonal and reproductive systems can result even from low levels of exposure to harmful chemicals.
Shockingly over 70 percent of chemicals produced in Europe are hazardous to health. It has been estimated that exposure to such chemicals contributed to over 260,000 deaths in the WHO European Region in 2019, and this is likely an underestimation due to a lack of available data.
The European Human Biomonitoring programme concluded in 2022 that the European population is exposed to alarmingly high levels of hazardous chemicals, in particular children, after testing 18 of the most harmful chemical groups in people across 28 European countries.
Exposure to chemicals, including pesticides, is linked to birth defects and negative cognitive and physical development of children. A recent scientific study found that exposure to chemical mixtures such as PFAS and phthalates during pregnancy can lead to negative impacts on neurodevelopment, such as cognitive abilities and fine motor function of children.
According to the European Environmental Agency exposure to air pollution and carcinogenic chemicals, and other pollutants may contribute to over 10 percent of cancer cases in Europe.
This means that if pollution is not addressed, the EU’s flagship Beating Cancer Plan will be just a broken promise
The draft EU Strategic Agenda is clearly focusing on competitiveness and defence, and yet paradoxically it does not consider the significant economic and societal costs stemming from pollution.
This includes €52-84bn annually (EEA countries) for exposure to PFAS, with cleaning costs of water purification of PFAS a whopping €238bn — as well as over €163bn per year in health costs from endocrine disrupting chemicals.
These are just some of the many chemicals that are not regulated properly wreaking havoc on our health — and as they increase in our environment and bodies so will the costs.
The European Union needs to stick to the Green Deal Commitment, Zero Pollution Action Plan and Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.
We need an updated and robust REACH regulation as a priority for the next EU Commission in the first 100 days of its mandate, an EU-wide PFAS restriction and a commitment to diminish the use of harmful pesticides if we are serious about disease prevention and healthier, longer lives.
If politicians ignore health, the results will be dire; unbearable health costs, higher mortality rates, negative impact on reproduction, pollution that cannot be cleared, diminishing fertile land and freshwater reserves. Healthy populations and ecosystems are vital for achieving competitiveness and security.
Health concerns everyone, irrespective of political alignment. The final EU Strategic Agenda needs to address the heavy toll climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are taking on health.
Génon K. Jensen is executive director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a leading European organisation on addressing environmental determinants of health, with over 80 national & sub-national member organisations.
Génon K. Jensen is executive director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a leading European organisation on addressing environmental determinants of health, with over 80 national & sub-national member organisations.