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New Crisis? EU Claims Millions Die Of Pollution

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – As the European Union slowly emerges from coronavirus lockdowns, thousands of delegates gathered to tackle another perceived crisis: pollution. The EU Green Week 2021 included a virtual conference amid concerns that millions of people “prematurely die” because of pollution.

Dedicated to the EU ambition of zero pollution by 2050, the event zoomed in on efforts to tackle pollution of air, soil, and water.

That was music to the ears of more than 5,000 delegates attending the Green Week conference. It began with an opening meeting in Lahti, Finland and was followed up with a high-level virtual gathering in Brussels. An estimated 80 000 people also participated in 600 related events in 44 nations, organizers said.

Among several themes, they explored ways to build cleaner industrial plants, better urban planning for sustainable mobility, and improve air quality in the Western Balkans.

The events came after the World Health Organization warned that air pollution alone kills an estimated 7 million people annually. That is more than twice the coronavirus-related deaths reported so far.

With 1 in 8 premature deaths in the EU linked to pollution, the EU’s executive European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled new EU plans to tackle pollution soon. “We are setting up new 2030 targets to tackle pollution in all its forms,” she said. “We will tackle air pollution. We will tackle water pollution by reviewing our water quality standards. And by 2030, we expect to reduce the plastic in our oceans by half, and microplastics by 30 percent,” Von der Leyen stressed.

SOIL POLLUTION

She said it was also crucial to tackle soil pollution to protect “and restore the life-giving ground beneath our feet.” However, the top diplomat cautioned that more countries should follow the EU’s example.

Von der Leyen explained that the 27-nation bloc wants pollution reduced in Europe and worldwide to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. “We will not protect Europeans through action in Europe alone. European standards have to become global standards. We have already committed to giving protected status to at least 30 percent of land and sea here in Europe. We now want to broker the same ambition at the global level.”

If it’s up to EU leaders, many of the zero pollution targets can be reached within a decade as part of the broader green deal efforts.

Brussels says people should respect the boundaries with which the planet can cope, thereby creating a toxic-free environment.

At the gathering, speakers also agreed to reduce pollution from nutrients, pesticides, and plastics. The EU plans to discuss these issues at an upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Delegates called zero pollution “a matter of social justice.” They suggested vulnerable groups are hit the hardest, including children, people with medical conditions and disabilities, older people, and those living in impoverished conditions.

The conference proposed “green” stimulus packages in EU member states to reach zero pollution ambitions even faster. However, that includes a stricter tax system to ensure that “no one pollutes for free.” Organizers of this year’s EU Green Week say, however, these measures are needed to provide a more sustainable future.