Europe reaffirms its environment-health efforts
European governments will reaffirm their commitment to reducing negative environmental impacts on public health during three days of high-level discussions in Milan
10.03.2008 |ENDS Europe Daily
European governments will reaffirm their commitment to reducing negative environmental impacts on public health during three days of high-level discussions in Milan. The meeting, which started on Monday, is intended to strengthen the link between environment and health issues in European policy.
Representatives from 53 countries will review implementation of commitments made at the last World health organisation (WHO) pan-European ministerial conference on environment and health in Budapest in 2004 (EED 28/06/04). This assessment will feed into the next ministerial meeting, due to be held in Italy in 2009.
Improved environmental health policies could save up to 1.8m lives a year in Europe, according to the WHO. Main causes identified by the international body are air pollution, unsafe water, chemicals and injuries. But emerging threats such as climate change will "magnify the impact of the environment on health", it warns.
A report on climate and health in Italy predicts an average 3 per cent increase in deaths for each degree Celsius of temperature rise. "Investment in research is essential to identify effective responses to environmental risks to health, in particular those generated by climate change", says Corrado Clini, chair of the European environment and health committee.
The renewed focus on environment and health by European governments follows confirmation last year by the European commission that the issue is "still high on the EU agenda" (EED 13/06/07). The EU executive was forced to reaffirm its political will on the issue after member states reacted angrily to a suggestion that environmental impacts on human health had been exaggerated (EED 22/11/06).
