On this no comment is necessary:
ENDS Europe DAILY (EED) 2210, 22/11/06
The European commission has effectively admitted exaggerating environmental impacts on human health in an action plan launched two years ago.
In a new paper evaluating the 2004 “Scale” environmental and health action plan it concludes that negative impacts are “relatively limited” in the context of overall health risks. The decision to use this phrase was politically sensitive, officials have told ENDS.
Scale was the brainchild of former environment commissioner Margot Wallström, now responsible for communications in the EU executive. Insiders say that the initiative lost much of its political momentum almost as soon as she was replaced by Stavros Dimas.
When the action plan was launched, the commission insisted there was a “strong link between poor health and environmental problems” and estimated that one-sixth of all childhood deaths and diseases were due to environmental factors (EED 10/06/04).
Two months later, in the run-up to a ministerial conference, the World health organisation estimated that one-third of child deaths in Europe were caused by environmental factors (EED 21/06/04).
A commission official told ENDS that this latest analysis shows that environment-health issues are “less alarming than we thought when Scale was first launched.” The official admitted that the extent of the problem “may have been exaggerated” under Margot Wallström.
According to the commission, the reason why environment-health impacts are not as serious as first thought is largely thanks to the success of existing EU policies. The review’s main focus was an assessment of the information and monitoring systems needed to support future policy making in this area.
Its conclusion that existing systems are adequate but would benefit from further integration are in line with draft findings that emerged in June (EED 24/04/06). Among environment-health risks, air pollution is the outstanding concern, it concludes.