A European Commission report warns of superficial water contamination and seeks resources to deal with pollution
Lakes, streams, rivers, sources …: Surface waters in Europe are in a “critical” health status, a report by the European Commission is looking for resources to tackle pollution.
“Only 39.5% of the mass of surface water in the European Union were in good ecological status and 26.8% in good chemical status»2021, compared to 33.5% in 2015.
“This is mainly due to severe mercury pollution and other toxic pollutants“, Explains the European Commission.
On the contrary, the aquifer has a slight improvement: 86% of groundwater mass were in good chemical state in 2021, compared to 82.2% in 2015.
The European Commission’s report estimates that Member States will not be able to achieve European water quality objectives by 2027.
Environment, European Commissioner Jessica Rosval is expected to present a “strategy for protecting water” in the coming months.
It has also been pledged to present by the end of the year a proposal to amend the chemical law in Europe (REACH) and for better treatment of PFAs (overflowed alkylated substances), eternal synthetic pollutants that pollute water.
The European Union would like to ban pfas on daily consumption products “such as pizza boxes or waterproof clothes,” Sweden European Commissioner explained to journalists. The ban may exclude some products that are considered necessary and mainly concern the medical sector.
The environment, the decontamination of PFAS “will cost a lot of money”, admits Jessica Rosval and refers to the role they can play here in innovative companies.
The battle is expected to be harsh in the spring within the European Union in the negotiation of the next multi-year budgetary framework for the period 2028-2034.
For the environment “we must be more innovative in funding,” the Commissioner says, citing the “Nature credits” that can be won and reinstalling ecological “virtuous” growers or forest landowners.
A variant of controversial carbon credit, the idea of ​​”nature credit” or “biodiversity credit” is accepted with great skepticism from NGOs, who are afraid of a new “financialization” of the environment.
Source: Skai
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