Brussels, 24 July 2026 

ECL has co-signed a joint statement led by the EU Healthy Air Coalition, in which over 35 European health organisations call on EU policymakers to swiftly phase out fossil fuels.

The statement sets out the health case in direct terms. Air pollution is the top environmental risk to health in Europe and a contributing cause of lung cancer, alongside cardiovascular and respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes and dementia. Fossil fuel combustion sits at the core of both air pollution and climate change. Despite this, EU fossil fuel subsidies reached €111 billion in 2023.

The signatories, representing doctors, health professionals, scientists, patients, public health groups and health insurance funds, call on EU policymakers to end direct and indirect funding for fossil fuels, adopt binding national exit plans anchored in the latest science, end energy poverty and prioritise vulnerable groups, and counter misinformation and disinformation that delays regulatory action.

For ECL, this is prevention policy. The European Code Against Cancer is addressed to policymakers, not individuals: reducing population exposure to carcinogens in the air is a task for governments. A fossil-free Europe is among the largest primary prevention measures available.

ECL Director Dr Wolfgang Fecke signed the statement on behalf of the Association.

Read the full statement below.