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.
The EDC-Free Europe coalition, representing more than 70 health and environment organisations across Europe, is calling on the EU Commission to finally release a long overdue strategy on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
EDCs, also known as hormone disruptors, are artificial chemicals that interfere with the natural hormones in our bodies. In 2017, the European Commission committed to bring out a new integrated strategy on EDCs, after previous attempts to update the existing EU Community Strategy on EDCs from 1999 had been derailed by intense industry lobbying [1].
Génon K. Jensen, Executive Director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and EDC-Free Europe spokesperson, said:
“Every day, we are all exposed to a cocktail of chemicals that affect our hormone systems. But the EU’s current approach to identify and regulate hormone disruptors is full of loopholes and leaves every European at risk of preventable health impacts. We need the European Commission to finally release a new strategy on EDCs that will not only comply with citizens’ demands for better health protection but also boost innovation towards safer alternatives and bring down health costs through disease prevention.”
Our eight demands for a European strategy on EDCs can be found online here (also available in Spanish, French, Dutch and German.
