Climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss affect people’s health and generate multi-billion-euro economic losses, as a briefing produced by HEAL Poland under the patronage of the Institute of Water Economy and Meteorology of the National Research Institute and the Polish Federation of Asthma, Allergy, and COPD Patients Associations highlights.
A new policy brief, co-published by HEAL and the Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualités Libres), shows that the Belgian LEZs in Brussels and Antwerp have led to tangible air quality improvements in a period of only five years. Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution was reduced by 30% in Antwerp and 37% in Brussels.
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.
Science has a crucial role to play in the implementation of the revised EU clean air law, according to a new briefing by the METEOR research cluster. The briefing showcases how the projects in this EU funded research cluster can help support policymakers in the design of clean air measures and help in evaluating those which are most beneficial to health.
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), ChemSec, the Cancer Prevention and Education Society, Zero Waste Europe, CHEM Trust, Health Care Without Harm Europe, Fidra, and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB)…
HEAL supports the proposed amendments to the REACH authorisation list entries for Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is listed as a substance of very high concern under REACH due to its toxicity for reproductive prpoerties and its endocrine disrupting effects on human health and the environment.
HEAL strongly supports the inclusion of melamine, a substance that's harmful for human health and the environment, in the authorisation list of REACH.
Commenting on the European Commission’s proposal to restrict the use of bisphenol A (BPA) and other bisphenols in food contact materials, HEAL calls for swift action and ambition to protect health and the environment against hazardous chemicals found in food packaging.
This new briefing prepared as part of the EU-funded CISIP project aims to shed light on why “health” is at the heart of climate change and present some of the milestones of health sector engagement on climate.
A new science review commissioned by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) shows the significant impact of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on health.
Civil society organisations and health experts, as part of the Health Collaboration on Climate Change and Environment Project (CISIP), have published a new briefing titled "Climate Change and Mental Health"…
A new briefing by HEAL (in English and in Turkish), as part of the EU funded CISIP project, underlines the many health benefits that could be gained if Turkish decision-makers implemented stronger Green Deal action. Turkey’s Green Deal Action Plan, launched in 2021, sets 32 objectives and 81 actions, including on a Green and Circular Economy, secure energy supply and sustainable agriculture. However, contrary to the EU Green Deal which was adopted in 2019, the Turkish plan doesn’t set any tangible targets or deadlines.
Today, HEAL Poland has published an analysis of particulate matter air pollution in Poland during the 2022/23 heating season, and the associated health impacts of short-term exposure to air pollution…
HEAL analyses the draft report of the European Parliament (EP) ENVI committee on the legal proposal for reform of the legislation on the classification, labelling, and packaging of chemicals (CLP).
A new HEAL analysis shows that even coal power plants using the latest filter technology would still create significant (and avoidable) health impacts and costs in Turkey. This analysis adds to the body of evidence on the health burden from coal power generation and underlines that in order to protect health, Turkey should set a coal phase out date of 2030, and shelve all coal plants remaining in the pipeline.
HEAL welcomes the draft proposal for a revision of the CLP legislation and overall shares a positive assessment of the set of measures put forward by the European Commission in…
We are exposed to a wide mix of potentially harmful chemicals on a daily basis. To assess whether and how exposure to chemical substances can impact our health and the environment, European and national regulatory authorities rely on the results from several testing methods, including animal testing, when performing their safety assessment. In this Q&A, HEAL answers several key questions about the use of animal testing in the European Union.
As the Polish government is about to launch its update on its 2040 Energy Strategy (PEP), part three of HEAL’s ‘Curing Chronic Coal’ series, published today, shows that the earlier Poland phases out coal power, the greater the health benefits and saved health costs to society will be.
