The EU has a unique public health opportunity with the current revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directive, and the newly elected Polish government can help ensure this. Watering the law’s ambition down with delays and exemptions would be a major, unacceptable setback for people in Poland - one of the countries with the highest economic burden to health from air pollution in the EU.
As the Ambient Air Quality Directive revision negotiations are ramping up ahead of the final trilogue on 20 February 2024 health experts from across the EU, including from Germany, Poland, Italy, France and Spain, warn decision makers about the potential impacts of exemptions and delays.
The Ambient Air Quality Directive revision negotiations must urgently be concluded ahead of the EU elections this June. As trilogue negotiations continue, the Council has included the potential for decade-long exemptions from adhering to the legally binding air pollution limit values, based on countries’ GDP compared to EU average.
A group of health scientists has today published a scientific commentary which shows the significant consequences that postponing deadlines to achieve new EU air quality objectives would have for Europeans’ health.
In only a couple of years, public and decision-makers' attention has increased on the health burden from environmental, climate threats and the opportunities for disease prevention through protective policies. HEAL…
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) recently hosted a half day science to policy consultation workshop with representatives of the Brussels administration and other stakeholders, on how to reduce the urban burden of disease in Brussels through environmental policies. This consultation workshop was the first in a series of stakeholder engagement activities in various cities in Europe.
Health groups have sent a joint letter to EU environment ministers, calling to accelerate action for clean air for health, instead of delaying.
The new HEAL infographic in English and Polish outlines the most important facts about nitrogen dioxide and its impact on health and highlights what actions should be taken to protect people the pollutant.
Salud por Derecho, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Ecologistas en Acción, IS Global and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) organise a webinar entitled "Ambient Air Quality EU Directive: A public health need". More...
Health groups welcome today’s adoption of the Council negotiating mandate for the Ambient Air Quality Directive revision under the Spanish EU Presidency, as the right next step, as it means trilogue negotiations on clean air for health can start and be concluded before the 2024 EU elections.
Die Abstimmung über die Verhandlungsposition der EU-Mitgliedsstaaten ist für diese Woche Mittwoch im Ausschuss der Ständigen Vertreter (COREPER) vorgesehen. Erst wenn die EU-Mitgliedsstaten ihre Verhandlungsposition festgelegt haben, können die sogenannten Trilogverhandlungen zwischen Mitgliedstaaten, Europaparlament und EU-Kommission beginnen und der Zeitplan für die Novellierung gehalten werden, damit die Revision der Richtlinie bis vor den Europawahlen abgeschlossen ist.
In view of ongoing deliberations on the revision of the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), health organisations representing the European health sector, including medical doctors, healthcare professionals, patient organisations and health insurance funds, urge member states to act on the unacceptably high health burden from air pollution and to adopt a negotiating position this week, so that the AAQD trilogues can start, and the revision process can be concluded before the 2024 EU elections
On #WorldCitiesDay 2023, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) held 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. The recordings in English, German and Polish are now online.
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....
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…
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.
Today, the European Parliament plenary voted on the revision of the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) (2022/0347(COD)). The report by rapporteur Javi Lopez was voted on with 363 in favour, 226 against, and 46 abstentions.
Next Wednesday, 13 September 2023, the European Parliament will vote on the revision of the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) (2022/0347(COD)), a key law for the protection of people’s…
Today, the health groups Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Society of Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Europe, Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and Mutualités Libres/Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen sent a letter to all members of the European Parliament.
