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Posted on 11th July 2023 |
Show only this post Show all posts in this thread (the environment). |
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This report on The Guardian is very worrying. It shows that the EU suffers from the same poison of lobbying as exists in the USA, which undermines democracy. The EU had promised to "outlaw all but the most essential of Europe’s hazardous chemicals", including PFAS and other toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Now, however, the EU’s executive are planning to climbdown under heavy pressure from Europe’s chemical industry and rightwing political parties. The real problem with all this is that the lobbyists' arguments make no financial sense. The EU's analysis shows that the savings in the costs of treating illnesses such as cancer and obesity would amount to €11bn-€31bn (£9.4bn-£26.5bn) a year, whereas the costs to industry of banning these polluting chemicals would be around €0.9bn-€2.7bn a year (about a tenth of the savings). I do not understand why the EU is bowing to industry lobbying, when there is no financial justification, and banning these harmful chemicals would yield enormous benefits in terms of health, quality of life and life expectancy. | |