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Environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said the EU executive body would develop plans to drastically reduce pollution levels across the bloc, potentially eliminating more than 70% of the 300,000 annual premature deaths over the next decade.
Measures to be announced by the European Commission on Wednesday will include an overhaul of the bloc’s air pollution regulations to bring the bloc closer to guidelines set by the World Health Organization. This includes a goal to more than halve annual limits on fine particulate matter, the main pollutant, by the end of the century.
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“We want to put the EU on a trajectory to zero air pollution by 2050 at the latest,” Zinkevius said in an interview. “Fresh air shouldn’t be a luxury in Europe.”
The proposals are expected to generate annual economic benefits of up to 121 billion euros ($120 billion) by the end of the century, due to increased crop yields, reduced workday losses and other factors. Citizens’ health problems related to air pollution will be entitled to compensation.
The committee will also propose stricter measures to address pollutants in wastewater in more than 1,000 residential areas, and will promote the use of wastewater to produce biogas.
The final part of the package will protect the region’s freshwater supply by updating the EU’s list of pollutants and strengthening monitoring and warning systems. River pollution came into focus in August when algae in Poland’s Oder River was linked to one of the country’s biggest environmental disasters in years.
The European Union has stepped up efforts to tackle pollution as it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century, including legislation to phase out internal combustion engine cars by 2035 and speed up the rollout of pollution-free renewable energy.
Still, according to Sinkevicius, the rules mean the EU is falling short of WHO recommendations, which it hopes will close the gap later in the century.
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