Environmental crises endanger health. At the same time, an ecological change of course offers many opportunities to create healthier living conditions. This is the core message of the special report that the Environment Council is handing over to Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and Health Minister Prof. Karl Lauterbach in Berlin today.
15 % of deaths in Europe are due to environmental risks, the WHO estimates. Health hazards arise, for example, from air pollutants, noise, chemicals and the spread of antibiotic resistance. New burdens, such as those caused by climate change and biodiversity loss, are also emerging.
"We have known about some of these problems for many years, and policy-makers should now tackle them consistently," says Prof. Claudia Hornberg, Chair of the Environmental Council. "For example, the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry must be more limited in order to reduce the risk of resistance. In addition, chemical regulation should focus on inherently safe chemicals as far as possible."
Only if the federal, state and local governments consistently think together about environment and health can healthy living conditions be created for all. Established instruments such as monitoring, limit values and environmental assessments must be adapted to new challenges. The report provides numerous suggestions for this.
There is also a need for action in urban design: "We need more nature in cities, also to cushion the effects of climate change," says Council member Prof. Wolfgang Köck. "Socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods are often subject to multiple stresses, especially noise and air pollution. Municipalities should specifically relieve these neighbourhoods. Health-related environmental protection in urban planning needs more active involvement of public health departments and greater public participation, as well as financial support from the federal and state governments."
"How important nature is for our health is often underestimated," adds Council member Prof. Josef Settele. "It helps to reduce stress, motivates us to exercise and strengthens the immune system, to name just a few examples. To preserve all these functions, we need to protect it better and give it more space."
Special report of the SRU
2023, 282 pages, 35 illustrations, 6 table(s), ISBN 978-3-947370-25-2
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The German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) has been advising the German government on environmental policy issues for over 50 years. The Council's composition of seven professors from different disciplines ensures a scientifically independent and comprehensive assessment, both from a scientific-technical and a social science perspective.
The Council currently consists of the following members:
Prof. Dr Claudia Hornberg (Chair), Bielefeld University
Prof. Dr Claudia Kemfert (Deputy Chair), Leuphana University Lüneburg and German Institute for Economic Research Berlin
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christina Dornack, Dresden University of Technology
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Köck, University of Leipzig and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Lucht, Humboldt University Berlin and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Prof. Dr Josef Settele, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Prof. Dr Annette Elisabeth Töller, Open University in Hagen
German Advisory Council on the Environment
Luisenstraße 46, 10117 Berlin, + 49 30 263696-0
www.umweltrat.de
Keywords:
DE-News, New books and studies, Environmental policy
