HEAL advocates for policies to benefit peoples’ health and the environment
Stay up to date, read HEAL’s latest news, press releases, letters, briefings, policy papers, scientific statements and many other publications.
Press contact: Elke Zander elke@env-health.org
HEAL feedback on Air quality – revision of EU rules
13th January 2021
Air pollution is the number one environmental threat to health in the European region and…
HEAL feedback on new (8th) Environment Action Programme
22nd December 2020
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) welcomes the draft Decision on the 8th Environment Action…
New toolkit with communication tips for the Indian health sector
21st December 2020
Together with the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), and partners in India, especially in…
Unique doctors coalition in Poland launches urgent call for climate action
10th December 2020
Polish health and medical experts have issued a reminder that accelerating climate change already impacts…
Just transition for health protection – Why disease prevention and zero pollution need to be at the heart of energy investments
8th December 2020
The upcoming finalisation of the Just Transition Fund will set the financial framework on how…
Lancet Countdown 2020 underlines health benefits of decisive climate and recovery action
3rd December 2020
Responding to the converging climate and COVID-19 crises can deliver a triple win: better public…
More than 12,200 chemicals can be used in materials and articles coming in contact with food worldwide, according to new scientific database
30th November 2020
The first publicly available database providing an overview of the chemicals that can be used in the processing of food contact materials and articles was released today, which suggests that more than 12,200 chemicals can be used in materials and articles coming in contact with food worldwide.
Survey shows almost 50% of Belgians are unaware of health-harming endocrine disrupting chemicals in daily lives
19th November 2020
Results from a new survey published by the Belgian Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualités Libres / Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen) reveal nearly half of Belgian citizens have little knowledge of what endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are and how they can impact our health.
EU chemicals strategy: speedy implementation steps key to truly protect people’s health
14th October 2020
Environmental health advocates have welcomed today’s release of the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability as…
Proposal for 55% GHG reduction target for 2030: near miss is still a miss
16th September 2020
In her first State of the Union speech, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen…
European Parliament’s vote on Just Transition fund is a disappointment
16th September 2020
Today, the European Parliament has adopted its position on the 17.5 billion EUR Just Transition…
HEAL feedback on Air quality – revision of EU rules
13th January 2021
Air pollution is the number one environmental threat to health in the European region and…
HEAL joins international call for UN Food and Agriculture Organization to abandon partnership with trade industry
23rd November 2020
In response to stated plans by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to strengthen ties with a trade association whose members continue to produce highly hazardous pesticides harmful to human health and the environment, HEAL and over three hundred other organizations in over 60 countries have sent a letter to Director-General Qu Dongyu opposing the alliance.
An ambitious implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans to prevent ill-health and move towards zero pollution
9th November 2020
As leaders are gathering in Sofia this week for the next meeting in the Berlin process, HEAL urges them ambitiously implement the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans to prevent ill-health and move towards zero pollution.
Turning the plastic tide: how upgraded chemicals regulations are piece and parcel of addressing the plastics challenge
21st October 2020
Taking on the plastics challenge in a way that puts health and the environment first to deliver on Europe’s Zero Pollution ambition requires upgrading European regulations on chemicals and articles in which they are used, encompassing the entire lifecycle of plastics.
Ditch fossil fuelled transport to guarantee healthy air, study confirms
21st October 2020
What kind of city do we want to live in? Normally we don’t think much about that in our daily lives, but with the COVID pandemic we’ve also had to re-think the ways we move about in our cities.
Medical advice to EU leaders: prevention comes before cure
28th September 2020
The EU’s recovery package is the not-to-be-missed opportunity to lead us to a healthier future and should not extend a lifeline to the pollution that is making us sick, writes HEAL President Peter van den Hazel in EURACTIV.
Worrying rows over future EU chemicals policy
7th August 2020
Recent revelations on major disagreements within the European Commission about the development of the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability suggest that representatives of the Department General for Internal Market (DG GROW) seek to fundamentally tone down the proposals, under the pretence of economic interests and overruling preventive actions on chemicals and public health, writes Natacha Cingotti in EUObserver.
Time to action European promises on endocrine disruptors
12th March 2020
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has committed to address endocrine disruptors as part of “a cross-cutting strategy to protect citizens’ health from environmental degradation and pollution” to reach “a zero-pollution ambition”. If Europe is serious about delivering on its promises and regulating based on science, then the current evaluation of the EDC framework is a real opportunity for health, environment and our economy, writes Natacha Cingotti in the ECHA Guest Corner.
Stepping up Dutch climate action for a healthy future for our children
19th December 2019
The Dutch government has been appealing the Urgenda verdict for 4 years - it should recognise that accepting and executing it will be a blessing, writes HEAL President Peter van den Hazel.
