Health call for decisive, domestic EU climate mitigation to prevent disease and reduce cost

The letter calls for:

1. A decisive 2040 domestic goal with no pollution outsourcing: we are highly concerned about the foreseen flexibilities and offsetting mechanisms for the 2040 mitigation goal. Offsetting schemes that allow countries or companies to “compensate” for continued emissions by paying for reductions elsewhere risk outsourcing pollution instead of eliminating it at the source. Such approaches can delay the urgent domestic emissions cuts needed, while communities at home continue to suffer the health impacts of pollution. Domestic reductions need to be prioritised across all sectors, particularly those with direct co-benefits to health in the energy, transport, agriculture and housing sectors.

2. Mechanisms that safeguard greater ambition, rather than slowing climate action. Investments in a clean, healthy and just transition need predictability. A proposed 2-year review mechanism risks further slowing down climate mitigation. We are also concerned about the proposed emergency brake that risks rewarding climate laggards by allowing flexibility if Member States fail to meet the 2030 LULUCF target for net carbon removals from land and forests, and the impacts on the support to vulnerable households through the delay of ETS2.

3. A swift phase out all direct and indirect fossil fuels subsidies. The burning of fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change, also creates pervasive air pollution that cuts lives short and deepens socio-economic inequalities. Intensifying wildfires worsen air quality, aggravating health impacts. In cities, heat and poor air quality are a particular threat for people living with respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Fossil fuels are still heavily subsidies, despite commitments to the contrary. We urge you to phase out subsidies in the energy sector by 2027, and fossil fuel subsidies in the 2028-35 EU budget, in support of a clean transition, including public investments into renewable energy, pollution reduction, and climate resilience.