As the revision of EU chemicals legislation REACH is underway, the Health and Environment Alliance urges the European Commission to uphold its commitments on safer chemicals and ensure that ambitious health protections remain at the heart of the project.
HEAL and several of our members participated in the Second World Health Organization Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Colombia, March 2025, to showcase how health engagement for clean air can make a difference, and to underline the urgency to act for better health.
Health organisations were active at record levels for the recent update of the EU’s clean air standards, contributing to a revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) which aligns the EU’s air quality standards more closely with the 2021 WHO air quality guidelines. At the Cartagena conference, the European Union was thus widely recognised as global leader in driving health-protective air quality legislation.
HEAL’s President Vanessa Lopez was part of the HEAL Cartagena conference delegation, and and called for a speedy implementation of the revised AAQD directive as a speaker at one of the conference panels:
It is paramount to everyone’s health in Europe that EU member states now accelerate clean air action on the ground. That means swiftly completing the transposition of the AAQD into national law and allocating adequate funding to its successful implementation, both in national and local budgets, as well as in the upcoming EU multiannual financial framework 2028-2034.
HEAL President Vanessa Lopez
The HEAL President also highlighted the need to address inequalities at national level and referred to HEAL’s briefing on how clean action can help address socio-economic health inequalities (now also available in German, French, Polish, Italian and Dutch).
HEAL organised a pre-conference event together with other founding members of the EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC) who had the opportunity to travel to Colombia. The event aimed to showcase engagement by the coalition during the process that led to the EU’s recently revised clean air standards.
During the session, EUHAC members shared with a global audience some lessons learnt on science-to-policy translation, health sector advocacy coordination, and linking engagement on socio-economic and environmental determinants of health for making the WHO Air Quality Guidelines a breathable reality.
Prior to the conference, HEAL was a co-initiator for a call urging governments, world leaders and decision-makers to commit to strong, bold actions to ensure clean air for all. More than 47 million health professionals, patients, advocates, representatives from civil society organisations, and individuals worldwide signed up to this call. This global statement includes a fossil fuel phase out in a fair and equitable manner as a key action to implement.
