Green Deal and Health: locally-led environment and climate action will save lives in EU cities and regions

​The European Committee of the Regions is urging to accelerate the implementation of the European Green Deal in partnership with local and regional authorities to respond to the health threats arising from environmental pollution and the consequences of climate change. Members adopted the recommendations drafted by Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla (ES/EPP), President of Andalusia, at the plenary session on 31 January.

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. Alongside air and water pollution and soil degradation, longer and more frequent droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather events and the spread of diseases linked to changing climate are posing significant threats to human health.

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

Rapporteur Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla stressed that local and regional authorities have key role in implementing and developing Green Deal policies and measures. They can mitigate the impact of climate change, pollution and environmental degradation on human health by promoting sustainable models of transport, managing sources of urban pollution or creating green and blue spaces that preserve natural habitats. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen their competences, funding and capacity to act by stepping up the support given to them, including through cohesion policy financial instruments.

The CoR opinion also stresses the importance of collaboration between LRAs, healthcare institutions, and environmental agencies in developing region-specific adaptation plans and ensuring that health systems are resilient, adaptable, and responsive to the evolving climate-related health threats.

The opinion is accompanied by a study analysing the impact of measures taken at local and regional level to address health risks related to climate change and environmental degradation. It includes 10 specific case studies, ranging from low-emission zones in Berlin and Brussels to wider initiatives around urban greening and mobility, such as Rotterdam Walks or the Healthy Streets programme in Budapest. The study recommends assessing the health impact to prioritise the measures and underlines the importance of reaching public acceptance through communication and consultation.

Quotes

Rapporteur Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, President of Andalusia: "The close cooperation envisaged in the Green Deal is essential. It should focus in particular on health, the environment, urban planning and transport as one of the main axes of a sustainable and prosperous Europe where the harmful consequences of climate change, pollution and environmental degradation are reduced. This requires taking into account the fundamental role of regional and local authorities both in the planning and design and in the implementation of the Green Deal measures."

Dolors Montserrat (ES/EPP), Chair of the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament: "Health is a prerequisite for sustainable development, with fundamental implications for the security, stability and prosperity of our society. European citizens are asking us for a greener and more circular economy, approached with a balance between environmental sustainability, excellent and resilient agri-food production, the competitive development of our industry, and the protection of our health. The Green Deal and the European Union of Health are Europe's response to this challenge for which we need to work all together, European institutions, national governments, regions, the economic and productive sectors, the scientific community and citizens."

More information:

The Declaration on Climate Change and Health adopted at the COP28 in Dubai underlined the importance of addressing the interplay between climate change and health. It includes a commitment to better integrate health considerations into climate policy and climate considerations into health policy.

See also: Green Deal Going Local: Map of best practises

Contact:

Lauri Ouvinen

Tel: +32 473536887

lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu​