The German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer), the German Climate and Health Alliance (Deutsche Allianz Klimawandel und Gesundheit (KLUG)) and HEAL have sent a letter to German environment minister Steffi Lemke regarding the revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD). The organisations call on the minister to improve the European Commission's proposal, by upping the ambition of the legislation...
Twenty years ago, I realised that environmental pollution is linked to ill health and serious acute and chronic diseases, like cancer, asthma and respiratory diseases. This is when I launched into my environmental health journey and founded HEAL. It became clear to me that our ways of living and the environmental pollution resulting from that impacted our health. I wanted to know more about the impacts and the extent, how much of it was preventable, and what role and power policy-making could have in it....
The European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), voted on the draft proposal for a Sustainable use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) and the non-binding objection to the renewal of the widely used pesticide glyphosate. While the objection for non-renewal of glyphosate failed, the SUR was adopted, but in order to truly protect health more ambition is needed.
More than 75 health and environment groups call upon all EU member states and members of the EU Parliament to support a strong Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) without further delays.
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and its members have written to MEPs in the EP ENVI committee, calling on them to support pesticide reduction in the EU, ahead of a vote on the draft Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) on 24 October 2023.
Today, HEAL, with seven more health organisations, has sent a letter to EU environment ministers about the EU’s clean air standards (Ambient Air Quality Directives - AAQD). The organisations, representing…
In October 2023, HEAL hosted its annual General Assembly gathering members and partners together. This year was a special occasion to celebrate the achievements in protecting people’s health against environment and climate threats since the organisation's inception 20 years ago, and to look ahead.
The REACH legislation sets out how the European Union registers, evaluates, authorises and restricts chemicals. The sorely needed overhaul of this juggernaut of EU chemicals legislation is an opportunity to strengthen its effectiveness in protecting our health and the environment through better and earlier identification of hazardous chemicals.
Today, the European Commission failed to get enough support for its proposal to reauthorise the use of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used pesticide which is associated with risks of cancer and other health disorders, for another ten years.
On #WorldCitiesDay 2023, join the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) for a special webinar on the latest evidence on how people’s health in cities is affected by air pollution, noise, lack of green space, climate change, and inequalities, and how policy makers can respond to these health threats.
On the occasion of the 2023 #WorldCleanAirDay, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the Institute for Health and Environment Slovenia organised a virtual exchange on Building health bridges for clean air.
On 12-13 October 2023, EU member states’ representatives convening in the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) are expected to discuss and potentially vote on the Commission’s proposal to renew glyphosate’s market license for a period of 10 years.
HEAL calls on governments to support the European Commission's proposal for non-renewal of five endocrine disrupting pesticides.
HEAL and eight of its members and health partners have written to European agriculture, environment, and health ministers to urge their governments to support a complete phase-out of glyphosate.
A majority of members of the European Parliament supported the report proposed by the ENVI committee on the revision of the legislation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances (CLP). The reform of CLP is crucial to improve the protection of workers and citizens through more effective hazard identification, labelling and packaging of chemicals in industrial and commercial use.
Today the General Court of the European Court of Justice ruled that the 2019 EU-wide ban of the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos-methyl remains in force. This follows a legal case against the European Commission by Ascenza Agro and Industries Afrasa, manufacturers of the pesticide, which challenged the quality and the legality of the scientific assessment that led to the ban.
