'Pollution is the largest environmental cause of multiple mental and physical diseases, and of premature deaths, especially among children, people with certain medical conditions and the elderly. People who live in more deprived areas often live close to contaminated sites, or in areas where there is a very high flow of traffic. A toxic-free environment is also crucial to protect our biodiversity and ecosystems, as pollution is one of the main reasons for the loss of biodiversity. It reduces the ability of ecosystems to provide services such as carbon sequestration and air and water decontamination.''Today, the European Commission adopted the
EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil” – a key deliverable of the
European Green Deal and the main topic of this year's
EU Green Week. It sets out an integrated vision for 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, as well as the steps to get there. The plan ties together all relevant EU policies to tackle and prevent pollution, with a special emphasis on how to use digital solutions to tackle pollution. Reviews of relevant EU legislation are foreseen to identify remaining gaps in EU legislation and where better implementation is necessary to meet these legal obligations.
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..the Action Plan sets key 2030 targets to reduce pollution at source, in comparison to the current situation. Namely:
- improving air quality to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55%;
- improving water quality by reducing waste, plastic litter at sea (by 50%) and microplastics released into the environment (by 30%);
- improving soil quality by reducing nutrient losses and chemical pesticides' use by 50%;
- reducing by 25% the EU ecosystems where air pollution threatens biodiversity;
- reducing the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30%, and
- significantly reducing waste generation and by 50% residual municipal waste.
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Pollution is the largest environmental cause of multiple mental and physical diseases, and of premature deaths, especially among children, people with certain medical conditions and the elderly. People who live in more deprived areas often live close to contaminated sites, or in areas where there is a very high flow of traffic. A toxic-free environment is also crucial to protect our biodiversity and ecosystems, as pollution is one of the main reasons for the loss of biodiversity. It reduces the ability of ecosystems to provide services such as carbon sequestration and air and water decontamination.
According to a recent
EEA report on Health and Environment, in the EU, every year over 400 000 premature deaths (including from cancers) are attributed to ambient air pollution, and 48 000 cases of ischaemic heart disease as well as 6.5 million cases of chronic sleep disturbance to noise, next to other diseases attributable to both.
The EU has already set many targets linked to pollution. Existing legislation on air, water, marine, and noise sets out objectives for environmental quality, and many laws address the sources of pollution. In addition, the Commission has announced some overarching targets for reducing nutrient losses and pesticides in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies to help achieve our biodiversity goals.
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European Green Deal: Commission aims for zero pollution in air, water and soil, May 12, 2021
Context(Global Healing 2020 - 2050)(Clean air, soil & water) - '..a complete phase-out of wood burning for power, heat and road transport as soon as possible.'(Sustainable Agriculture) - The Rapid Emergence of Plasma AgricultureEstimate: October, 2025 – Safire Plasma (fusion) Reactors commercially available – Abundance(Electric Universe - SAFIRE - 2019) - 'All the evidence to date points to electricity as the primal force in nature.'In The Electric Universe a Future of Peace and Love