Zero pollution and biodiversity

Zero pollution, biodiversity restoration and natural capital accounting

Portfolio overview

Our society and our economies depend on nature, but the health of our planet is under threat. Urgent action is needed to preserve biodiversity and reduce pollution. Healthy and diverse ecosystems can serve as our best ally in combatting climate change.  

This portfolio will provide a comprehensive set of tools, methodologies and data to support scientific innovation for reducing pollution and preserving biodiversity. Strategies involve collaborating across sectors, reducing reporting obligations, supporting policy implementation and addressing policy gaps and policy coherence — from the initial design phase to the end-of-life of products and processes.  

Objectives

Identify and define pollution and its impacts 
Characterise pollution and its impact on ecosystems and human health.  
Provide policy performance metrics
Provide quantified metrics to track policy performance. 
Assess ecosystems and their services
Assess ecosystems and their services in biophysical and monetary terms. 
Improve chemical safety assessment and reduce animal testing 
Improve pre-marketing chemical safety assessment methodologies and reduce reliance on animal testing. 
Support sustainability and circularity in the economy
Help to implement the framework for ‘safe and sustainable by design’ for chemicals and materials, and sustainable circular economy approaches. 
Align warning mechanisms 
Identify options to align warning mechanisms across air, soil and water. 
Inspire behavioural change 
Raise awareness of nature’s impact on society and the economy, as well as the risks of pollution, to inspire behavioural change.  
Enhance biosecurity policy 
Improve cohesion across different policy areas to manage non-native organisms. 
Support global initiatives 
Sustain EU contributions to global initiatives such as the Global Biodiversity Framework.