The European Committee of the Regions urges the acceleration of the implementation of the European Green Deal in partnership with local and regional authorities in order to respond to health threats arising from environmental pollution and the consequences of climate change. At a plenary session on January 31, MPs accepted the recommendations drawn up by Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla (ES/ELP), president of Andalusia.

The European Environment Agency has estimated that various forms of environmental pollution are responsible for one in eight deaths per year in the European Union. In addition to air and water pollution and soil degradation, longer and more frequent droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather events and the spread of diseases associated with a changing climate represent a significant threat to human health.

The European Committee of the Regions urges to address these health threats by pushing for the implementation of the European Climate Law and the Fit for 55 package aimed at reducing direct CO2 emissions. It reiterates its call for the full and binding alignment of the Air Quality Directive with the WHO guidelines from 2021 to 2035 and underlines the importance of the measures stemming from the Zero Pollution Action Plan, which aims to create a toxic-free environment where air, water and soil pollution levels are no longer harmful to health and natural ecosystems.