Environmental health indicators within the context of the EU Sustainable Development Indicators

1. European Commission - Eurostat Environmental health indicatorswithin the context of theEU Sustainable Development Indicators Working Party on Health and EnvironmentLuxembourg, 19 September 2005 Graham Lock ESTAT D1 http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/sustainabledevelopment

2. A fundamental objective of the EU TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION Article 2 The Union shall set itself the following objectives: — ... to achieve balanced and sustainable development ...

3. Current policy context • Policy basis • European Councils (2001, 2002) • Johannesburg World Summit (2002) • Link with Lisbon Strategy / Structural Indicators • Review of the Strategy (2005/6) • Declaration on guiding principles (June 2005) • Communication on review of the Strategy (Oct/Nov 2005) • Publication on SDI (December 2005) • Review of the Strategy by the Council (2006)

4. The working method

5. (Lisbon) Economic Development Poverty and Social Exclusion Ageing society Public Health Climate Change and Energy Management of Natural Resources Transport SDS Sustainable Production and Consumption Good Governance WSSD Ext. Dimens. Global Partnership From the Strategy to a framework for indicators

6. 45 12 98 Lead objectives Main policy issues Headline indicators Level 1 General policy performance indicators Level 2 SDS priority objectives Detailed level of indicators on efficiency of policy measures Detailed monitoring explanatory variables Level 3 Pyramid of indicators

7. Integration Social dimension Economic dimension 15 1 4 19 ! 15 0 3 Environmental dimension

8. Public Health as a theme in the SDI • One headline indicator: • Healthy life years at birth • Four subthemes: • Human Health Protection and Lifestyles • Food Safety and Quality • Chemicals Management • Health Risks due to Environmental Conditions

9. Key to next four slides Normal text = ‘best available’ indicator, i.e. indicator expected to be available Italics =‘best needed’ indicators; needed but facing problems of definition, data availability or data quality • Level 2 indicators • Level 3 indicators Headline Objectives in the EU SD Strategy (SDS) Presidency conclusions of European Council (EC) WSSD Plan of Implementation (PoI) 6th Environmental Action Programme (6EAP) Millennium Declaration Goals

10. Human Health Protection and Lifestyles • Percentage of overweight people • Resistance to antibiotics • Healthy life years at age 65 • Health care expenditure • Cancer incidence rate • Suicide death rate • Percentage of present smokers • Work with high level of job strain/stress • Serious accidents at work SDS: Ensure the adequacy of pension systems as well as of health care systems and care of the elderly, while at the same time maintaining sustainability of public finances and inter-generational solidarity. SDS: Tackle issues related to outbreaks of infectious diseases and resistance to antibiotics. PoI2002: Enhance health education with the objective of achieving improved health literacy on a global basis by 2010.

11. Food Safety and Quality • Deaths due to infectious food-borne diseases • Salmonellosis incidence rate in human beings • Dioxins and PCBs in food and feed • Heavy metals, and mercury in particular, in fish and shellfish • Pesticide residues in food SDS: Make food safety and quality the objective of all players in the food chain. 6EAP: Reduce impacts of pesticides on human health and environment; achieve a more sustainable use of pesticides, a significant overall reduction in risks and use of pesticides consistent with the necessary crop production.

12. Chemicals Management • Index of apparent consumption of chemicals, by toxicity class • Index of production of chemicals, by toxicity class SDS: By 2020, ensure that chemicals are only produced and used in ways that do not pose significant threats to human health and the environment. 6EAP: Dangerous chemicals, especially PCBs (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals) should be substituted with the aim of reducing risks to man and the environment (ground and surface water, air quality).

13. Health Risks due to Environmental Conditions • Population exposure to air pollution by particulate matter • Population exposure to air pollution by ozone • Proportion of population living in households considering that they suffer from noise and from pollution • Monetary damage of air pollution as % of GDP 6EAP: Achieving levels of air quality that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on and risks to human health and the environment. 6EAP: Substantially reducing the number of people regularly affected by long-term average levels of noise.

14. Environment-health indicators needing development • Population exposure to particulate matter and ozone • Monetary damage of air pollution as % of GDP • Index of apparent consumption of chemicals, by toxicity class • Dioxins and PCBs in food and feed • Heavy metals, and mercury in particular, in fish and shellfish • Pesticide residues in food • Generation of hazardous waste, by economic activity • Use of selected pesticides • Emissions of particulate matter from transport activities • Adequacy of housing conditions

15. Links Eurostat web pages on SDI • http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/sustainabledevelopment Commission web pages on SD • http://europa.eu.int/comm/sustainable/index_en.htm