Pollution levels remain too high in Europe, with the European Environment Agency (EEA) calling for Europeans to “consume better, differently and less”.
The European Commission and the EEA have published two pollution-related reports.
The first is the Zero pollution monitoring and outlook report, which provides an overview of the EU’s work to meet the 2030 zero-pollution targets.
The second is the fourth Clean air outlook report, which analyses the prospects for reducing air pollution in the EU by 2030 and beyond.
The reports reveal that while EU policies have contributed to certain improvements such as reducing air pollution, pesticide use, antimicrobials and ocean microplastics, urgent action is needed in other areas.
These include noise pollution, microplastic pollution in the environment, nutrient pollution and waste generation, which are all impacting the environment and human health.
The reports find nutrient losses have remained largely unchanged, particularly due to the persistent...