The meeting was co-chaired by Member of the European Committee of the Regions Markku Markkula, and Deputy Director-General of DG Environment Patrick Child, and began with a video message by Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, who expressed the importance of the stakeholder platform’s work.
The meeting comprised of two keynote speeches from Leena Ylä-Mononen and Salla Saastamoinen, European Environment Agency (EEA) Executive Director and Joint Research Centre (JRC) Deputy Director-General respectively, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Director for Zero Pollution Veronica Manfredi. The key topic was the overview and mid-term review of the 8th Environment Action Programme – consisting of the long term environment goals of the EU, founded in the Green Deal. During the panel, the regional and local dimensions of the action plan were emphasized, and feedback was taken from community leaders, since their communities play a key role in achieving Zero Pollution goals.
A discussion with all stakeholders followed, concerning not only the above topics, but the general progress and directions of the Action Plan, as well as areas with room for improvement. As the last Zero Pollution Stakeholder Meeting under the current Commission, the discussion also covered how the platform will carry over to the next legislative term.
At the meeting, EuChemS Science Communication and Policy Officer Marton Kottmayer commented on the importance of involving Learned Societies – such as EuChemS and its Members – in scientific policymaking. He highlighted – relevant to the panel discussion’s themes – how national chemical societies may be well equipped to tackle regional and local challenges, as well as the divisions devoted to environmental chemistry in EuChemS as well as many of its member societies. He also relayed Ioannis Katsoiyannis’s message, stating that EuChemS and its members possess human resources to undertake actions, especially in the part of pollution control of difficult pollutants, such as PFAS and microplastics while undertaking projects that refer to specific case studies in cooperation.
