18 July, 2025
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) has expressed concern with the European Commission’s proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 – and urges Member States to reconsider the ‘dismantling of dedicated health and environment funding lines’.
Removing dedicated structures for health and environment budgets – at a time when the public health consequences of environmental degradation and air pollution are intensifying – is a significant risk for environmental and climate protection, and health investment.
The cost of inaction is already measurable; respiratory illnesses linked to poor air quality already burden EU healthcare systems and national economies; resources are lost and healthcare spending increases each year. Air pollution also:
- Remains the largest environmental health risk in Europe – contributing to more than 300,000 premature deaths across the EU each year
- Still causes €600 billion in losses annually – equal to 4% of the EU’s GDP
Despite this, global development assistance for clean air makes up just 1% of international development funding and 2% of international public climate finance – indicating a general lack of understanding between the threat and level of investment required.
The MFF must protect investment not only in clean air, but in the research, resilience, and equity measures that sustain respiratory health in the long term.
ERS urges the European institutions and Member States to reconsider the dismantling of dedicated health and environment funding lines into larger, less transparent, multi-topic funds to ensure sustainable action.