Climate change deadlier than car accidents: European agency

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BELGRADE (AFP) — Europe needs to take drastic action to reverse complex environmental issues that have shortened the life expectancy of its people by almost a year, the European Environmental Agency said Wednesday.

"Air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to health: it shortens average life expectancy in western and central Europe by almost one year and affects the healthy development of children," the EEA said in a report presented at the opening of a ministerial conference here.

The continent needed to act fast to deal with challenges including the poor quality of air and drinking water, adverse impacts of climate change and continuing biodiversity losses, said the 400-page report.

"Air pollution by fine particles represents the highest risk to public health in all regions, higher than that of other air pollutants. The estimated annual loss of life is significantly greater than that due to car accidents," it warned.

The report was unveiled at the sixth ministerial "Environment for Europe" conference in Belgrade, a gathering attended by ministers and other high-level officials from 56 countries.

"We need to further strengthen the will to act on environmental issues across the pan-European region," Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA, told reporters in the Serbian capital.

"This requires a better understanding of the problems we face, their nature and distribution across societies and generations," she said.

In the report, the European agency warned that greenhouse gas emissions had increased in recent years in most European countries and "are projected to continue to do so in the future.

"Global emissions will have to be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2050 to limit temperature increases to a maximum of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the target proposed by the EU as necessary to avoid unacceptable climate change impacts in the future," the EEA said.

It added that countries of the former communist bloc in particular were at risk because of their rapid economic transformation.

"Most air pollutants have increased in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia by more than 10 percent as a result of economic recovery, increases in transport and the lack of effectiveness of air pollution protection policies," it said.

The participants of the three-day conference are expected to adopt a declaration at the end of the gathering on Friday.