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3. Human health and the environment

Page Last modified 14 Jun 2022
1 min read
Environmental pollutants and Europe’s changing climate will continue to impact human health. The EEA aims to improve our understanding of these impacts, as well as the social and demographic factors that affect the exposure and vulnerability of Europe’s citizens. The EEA supports Europe’s zero pollution ambitions and the implementation of related European and national actions.

The environment in which we live and work has profound implications for human health and wellbeing. In 2021, the EEA delivered data and information to improve knowledge of the health impacts caused by air, water and soil pollution, as well as those caused by noise, chemicals and Europe's changing climate. This included:

 

Air quality index.png


2021: key facts and figures

- 33%. Premature deaths attributed to exposure to fine particulate matter decreased by 33% in the EU in 2019 compared to 2005. A small number of industrial facilities in Europe are responsible for 50% of the damage caused by air pollution.

 

Ask an expert

On our Youtube channel, EEA experts discuss the most relevant topics and recent publications. Here we talk about air pollution and its health impacts in Europe and green cities.

Related content

Related briefings

Related publications

Publication Air quality in Europe 2021 Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and has significant impacts on the health of the European population, particularly in urban areas. While emissions of key air pollutants and their concentrations in ambient air have fallen significantly over the past two decades in Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas.
Publication Counting the costs of industrial pollution The societal costs or ‘externalities’ of air pollution from large industrial facilities are high and include impacts on human health, ecosystems, infrastructure and the climate. Within the European Green Deal, the European Union is committed to the transition to climate neutrality, alongside a zero-pollution ambition. European industry also has an important role to play in this shift, reinforcing Europe’s credentials as a leader in ‘green’ industry.
Publication Designing safe and sustainable products requires a new approach for chemicals The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability aims to ensure that chemicals are ‘produced and used in a way that maximises their contribution to society … while avoiding harm to the planet and to current and future generations’ (EC, 2020). Building sustainability dimensions into products’ design phase can support the delivery of these objectives. Key features of sustainable products include chemical safety, recyclability and a low environmental impact. This briefing describes approaches that are safe and sustainable by design and identifies enabling conditions, which support their uptake, and the related challenges and opportunities.
Publication Designing safe and sustainable products requires a new approach for chemicals The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability aims to ensure that chemicals are ‘produced and used in a way that maximises their contribution to society … while avoiding harm to the planet and to current and future generations’ (EC, 2020). Building sustainability dimensions into products’ design phase can support the delivery of these objectives. Key features of sustainable products include chemical safety, recyclability and a low environmental impact. This briefing describes approaches that are safe and sustainable by design and identifies enabling conditions, which support their uptake, and the related challenges and opportunities.

See also

Page 1. Biodiversity and ecosystems Faced with continued biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, Europe seeks reduce and reverse these losses, while bringing nature back into our lives. The EEA monitors this transition and supports the implementation and evaluation of actions in this area.
Page Areas of work The remit of the EEA is to provide reliable and timely information and knowledge to policy makers, the academic community, the general public and other stakeholders.
Folder Air quality index The European air quality index is calculated based on up-to-date (UTD) and modelled air quality data. The index is based on the 5 air quality pollutants; O3, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and SO2. First an index is calculated for each of these pollutants and the worst index is then selected as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI).

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/EEA-2021-the-year-in-brief/human-health-and-the-environment or scan the QR code.

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