The newly released European State of the Climate 2024 annual report (ESOTC), co-published by the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation program and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), confirms what public health experts have long warned about: the health costs of climate change in Europe are rising fast, and so is the human toll.
There is mounting evidence that socio-economic inequalities and the health impacts of air pollution are interlinked. People living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in EU cities and regions are likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution and to experience disproportionately severe health impacts. In these areas or regions, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those living with disease are particularly at risk, given that their overall health status may already be poorer than that of their counterparts living in more affluent areas.
As EU member states, regional and local authorities prepare to implement the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), this briefing by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) argues that decision-makers and authorities should pay particular attention to addressing socio-economic inequalities in their clean air efforts. The swift transposition and implementation of the new rules, with strengthened administrative collaboration and the full utilisation of financial support schemes, promise significant progress towards cleaner air across Europe. Improved air quality will be beneficial to everyone and contribute to preventing health inequalities for those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
Read the briefing in English here
Also available in German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Polish
