{"id":27892,"date":"2017-06-14T18:47:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T18:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=27892"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:52:09","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:52:09","slug":"polluted-environments-kill-1-4-million-in-europe-annually-un-agencies-urge-stepped-up-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/06\/polluted-environments-kill-1-4-million-in-europe-annually-un-agencies-urge-stepped-up-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Polluted environments kill 1.4 million in Europe annually; ±¬ÁÏÍø agencies urge stepped-up action"},"content":{"rendered":"

As some 1.4 million people in Europe and Central Asia die prematurely each year from polluted environments, United Nations agency heads at high-level meeting call for regional leaders to scale up action to stem environmental deaths and diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the era of Sustainable Development, we can prevent the 1.4 million environment related deaths by making health a political choice across all government sectors,\u201d said<\/a> Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe (WHO\/Europe), at the opening of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Ostrava, Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

European citizens annually lose 50 million years of healthy life due to environmental risks, corresponding to at least 15 per cent of Europe’s total deaths \u2013 around half of which are due to outdoor and indoor air pollution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge all European leaders to take this opportunity for more sustainable policies to address the health challenges of the 21st century,\u201d he underscored.<\/p>\n

WHO\/Europe, the ±¬ÁÏÍø Economic Commission for Europe (±¬ÁÏÍøECE<\/a>) and the ±¬ÁÏÍø Environment Programme (±¬ÁÏÍøEP<\/a>), joined approximately 500 representatives from the 53 countries of the European Region together with international and non-governmental organizations, to commit to prioritizing action on environmental risks to health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have enough evidence. We have solutions at hand. What we need is action,\u201d agreed Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of ±¬ÁÏÍøECE. \u201cExamples of solutions developed over the past 20 years by ±¬ÁÏÍøECE and WHO\/Europe with a proven track record include the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the Protocol on Water and Health and the joint Programme on Transport, Health and Environment. But we must do more to fulfil their potential to clean the air and water and promote smart cities and clean transport systems. And while doing more, we must build on the synergies embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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