The story of the Sambhavna Clinic, a non-profit holistic health clinic in Bhopal, India, built to treat those injured by the Union Carbide toxic gas release in 1984. enlarge video
Contact: Anja Leetz +49 152 5397 8103
Commission climate paper analyses Europe can save billions and set higher climate targets
Brussels — Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe (1) welcomes the Commission’s report (2) published today, that analyses the costs and benefits of moving beyond the EU’s current 20% emissions reduction target.
The report investigates the costs and benefits for all EU member states, and shows how deeper cuts in emissions would impact energy costs, technology investments, fuel costs, air quality and public health. The findings show that an EU move to 30% emissions reduction target by 2020 is feasible, cheaper than thought and can lead to multiple benefits including fuels savings, reductions in environmental pollution and health benefits.
EU Environment Ministers are expected to meet on 9 March to discuss, among other issues, the EU’s climate ambition.
“Given the benefits outlined in the Commission’s much-awaited country analysis, it is time for the Council to work towards a more ambitious climate policy in the EU for the protection of public health,” said Dr. Pendo Maro, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe.
The Commission’s report estimates health benefits at €3.4 to €7.9 billion annually (mainly due to reductions in mortality). HCWH Europe’s own report (3) from September 2010 had established the health benefits (mortality and morbidity) of an EU move from 20% to 30% emissions reduction by 2020 as €10 to € 30 billion annually.
Contact
Dr Pendo Maro, Senior Climate and Energy Advisor, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe. Email: pendo.maro@hcwh.org . Tel: +32 2503 4911 GSM +32 495 281 494
- (1) HCWH is a global coalition of more than 514 organisations in 53 countries working with the health sector to reduce its impact on human health and the environment while advocating for global environmental health.
- Link to the Commision's report.
- (3) Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Acting Now for Better Health, A 30% reduction target for EU climate policy, September 2010. Available for download .
Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. Visit the HCWH website for more information.
