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Twice a year the EU European Commission’s Joint Research Center together with the European Environment Agency, EEA publishes a monitoring report on progress in the member states in achieving the EU’s zero-pollution targets according to the 2021 Zero Pollution Action Plan. It reveals future policies designed to support the zero-pollution ambition in reducing threat to human health and the environment by 2050. Pollution is also one of the five main threats to biodiversity.
Background
In achieving the EU-wide clean and healthy environment planet, the EU adopted in 2021 Zero Pollution Action Plan with key targets in reducing the level of pollution reduction. The plan includes over thirty actions to prevent and reduce pollution, including zero pollution packages for cleaner air and water.
Pollution represents a significant threat to public health problems; however, there are clear inequalities in both exposure to and impacts of pollution. Citizens in lower socioeconomic groups tend to be more exposed to pollution and vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly are also disproportionately impacted. These pollution-associated deaths and illnesses are all largely preventable through reducing pollution levels in the environment and should be considered as part of future preventive health measures in Europe.
Reference to the “Zero pollution monitoring and outlook-2025” in:
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/zero-pollution-monitoring-and-outlook-report
The content: tackling six main sources of pollution
The reports show that EU policies have contributed to reducing air pollution, the use of pesticide and plastic litter at sea. However, pollution levels are still too high, in particular from harmful noise, micro-plastic releases into the environment, nutrient pollution and waste generation. According to the reports, much stronger action is necessary in the EU to achieve its 2030 pollution reduction targets.
It recommends that the zero pollution principles must be integrated into all policies and efforts taken at all levels to ensure further progress. In this context, fostering the EU’s circular economy will help reduce resource consumption and therefore will alleviate pressures on ecosystems and human health. Finally, action on zero pollution, notably through the Zero Pollution Action Plan, will support the sustainable transition of the EU’s economy and make it more competitive.
Progress towards the six ‘zero pollution’ targets remains mixed, pollution is decreasing from marine litter, pesticides and antimicrobials, according to the Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report.
Air quality has also improved across Europe, supported by regulatory developments and emissions reductions, resulting in a significant decrease in premature deaths. Still, the number of deaths caused by polluted air remains too high. In addition, ongoing pollution, particularly from ammonia and nitrogen oxides, continues to threaten EU ecosystems. This is echoed by the fourth Clean Air Outlook report, which highlights that, while air pollutant emissions in the EU continue to fall, air quality poses a serious risk for health and ecosystem quality in the EU.
More in reports on reducing air pollution in: a) https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/clean-air-outlook_en; and b) https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/air-pollution-decreasing-air-quality-remains-serious-risk-2025-03-03_en
The Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report also finds that the pollution levels from harmful noise, micro-plastics, nutrient and waste remain too high. On noise pollution, more efforts are required, particularly in urban areas, to decrease the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise. On micro-plastics, further measures are needed to tackle this source of pollution. In addition, nutrient losses have remained largely unchanged, particularly due to the persistent challenges of agricultural runoff and fertilizer use.
On waste, greater efforts are also needed, as waste production continues to increase in the EU. The report clearly shows that more action is needed to achieve the EU’s zero-pollution ambition. Full implementation and enforcement of the EU environmental legislation is therefore crucial to achieve the 2030 zero-pollution targets, as set out in the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
Regulatory means
On the legislative front, the EU has already taken steps with the revisions of the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Ambient Air Quality Directive, the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, the Waste Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Mercury Regulation.
The new Nature Restoration Regulation will also contribute to further reduce pollution pressures on ecosystems, and increase overall ecosystem resilience.
Thus, to tackle the micro-plastics’ pollution, the Commission presented in 2023 a proposal for a regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses to the environment; once adopted, it will help reach this pollution target in the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
The EEA’s opinion
Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), Leena Ylä-Mononen notes that zero-pollution review shows that “more action is urgently needed in key areas to reduce nutrient losses and impacts on the environment, reduce the health impacts of noise and reduce plastic pollution”.
The actions to curb consumption and to reduce waste, which are the ultimate drivers of environmental pressures, as well as promoting circularity are crucial in making progress towards sustainable goals. The EU must shift to consumption patterns that deliver more value for citizens while reducing consumption in areas driving the greatest environmental harm: in other words, people in the member states “must consume better, differently and less”.
Reference and citation from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_634
More in the following Commission’s websites: = Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report; = Fourth Clean Air Outlook report; = Zero Pollution Dashboard news item; = Clean Air Outlook report news item; = Zero Pollution Dashboard; = Zero Pollution Action Plan website; and = Tools and methodologies for Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report.