The European Commission adopted the EU action plan Towards zero pollution for air, water and soil on 12 May.

This action plan is part of the European green deal and sets a target of reduced pollution levels, which are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems.

The plan pulls in other European policies, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy, which plans to reduce fertiliser use by 20% and pesticide use by 50%.

It plans to fill gaps in legislation and identify areas where better implementation is needed.

Key targets

The action plan sets out key targets to 2030:

  • Improving air quality to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55%.
  • Improving water quality by reducing waste, plastic litter at sea (by 50%) and micro-plastics released into the environment (by 30%).
  • Improving soil quality by reducing nutrient losses and chemical pesticide use by 50%.
  • Reducing by 25% the EU ecosystems where air pollution threatens biodiversity.
  • Reducing the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30%.
  • Significantly reducing waste generation and by 50% residual municipal waste.

    • The new plan, along with the Chemicals strategy for sustainability adopted in 2020, aims for a toxic-free environment.