Publications

Riccardo Moschetti, Policy Officer, European Cancer Organisation 

Throughout human history, climate and the environment have always had a significant impact on human health. Indeed, scientific evidence shows that our bodies have adapted to living in extreme environmental settings, evolving and, where possible, mitigating adverse health effects.

It is therefore not surprising that, within the “One Health” approach championed by the European Commission, a significant effort has been made in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to

• Air pollution (indoor and outdoor);
• Water and groundwater pollution;
• Exposure to microplastics and materials detrimental to human health and chemicals in the environment such as asbestos, benzene, radon and others.

Apart from the of climate change on healthcare and cancer care in particular, such as damage to facilities, service disruptions, and  exacerbation of medicine shortages – recent scientific developments have highlighted the link between air pollution as one of the causes of lung cancer.

The combustion of fossil fuels is a well-established driver of climate change, a major source of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Prolonged and increasingly intense heatwaves – a trend that’s increasingly evident across Europe and globally – not only intensify respiratory and cardiovascular issues but also amplify air pollution levels beyond those directly linked to fossil fuel emissions. This combination of worsening air quality and heatwaves significantly increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer. Addressing both climate change and air quality is therefore essential for safeguarding public health and advancing cancer prevention.

Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to health and every European citizen is unavoidably exposed to it, with disproportionate effects for vulnerable social groups with pre-existing conditions. In 2020, exposure to air pollution throughout the EU caused more than 311,000 premature deaths.  According to the Lancet Commission on pollution and health, all forms of pollution cause 43% of lung cancer deaths. Air pollution alone causes up to 29% of all lung cancer deaths.

Because of the links with multiple diseases, including diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, air pollution has become the fourth leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study, surpassed only by high blood pressure, tobacco use and poor diet.

Lowering thresholds of acceptable levels of air pollution across Europe and stricter enforcement of existing EU legislation such as the EU Air Quality Directive should a clear priority alongside with:

• Ensuring that the EU fully utilises the WHO global Air Quality Guidelines which develops a series of cost-effective measures and recommendations and that it frames its policy actions and recommendations toward Member States in full coordination with WHO’s goals on Climate change impacts on health, framed also within the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development specifically on item 3 “Good health and wellbeing” and 13 “Climate Action”;
• Establishing coordination mechanisms across EU policy agendas related to environmental pollution such as the European Green Deal, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the NCD Initiatives and possible future-desease-plans (such as on cardiovascular disease,) ensuring progressive and regular monitoring progress toward meeting these standards;
• Stimulating the allocation of resources toward further research to fully understand the impact of exposure to a range of pollutants on human health, possibly stimulating evidence-based cross-disease clinical guidelines for the treatment and prevention of environment-related diseases.

In this scenario, public health organisations play a critical role, on the one hand raising the awareness to the public and ensure joint efforts to maintain attention to the issue, and on the other hand developing effective and efficient advocacy actions toward policy makers, ensuring not only resources are ensured, but that the policies put in place will be properly implemented.