Horizon Projects Supporting the Zero Pollution Action Plan

Taking good care of our water, soil and air in a rapidly changing world is a serious challenge. Although much progress has been made, the European Union’s fight against pollution needs to be more efficient and make better use of innovative solutions. This will help to prevent and remediate the pollution of land, water ecosystems and the atmosphere, to combat loss of biodiversity and to tackle increasing energy and water needs.Scientific and technological achievements can significantly contribute to efforts to meet the 2030 targets of the Zero Pollution Action Plan (ZPAP) (1), which include reducing:• the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55 %;• the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30 %;• air pollution threatening the biodiversity of the EU’s ecosystems by 25 %;• nutrient losses and the use of chemical pesticides by 50 %, to improve soil quality;• waste, plastic litter at sea (by 50 %) and microplastics released into the environment (by 30 %);• total waste generation significantly and residual municipal waste by 50 %.To achieve these targets, the ZPAP sets out nine flagships. This report is structured around these. It offers an overview of research results from 27 recently completed or almost completed Horizon 2020 projects and 79 examples of recently started projects under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe that willdeliver results in the years to come. Research results are vital in implementing the preventive and protective actions set out in the ZPAP.They also contribute to several actions under other European Green Deal initiatives, including the Chemicals’ Strategy for Sustainability. A deeper understanding of the links between environmental and human health and pollution will be crucial to finding the most efficient policies capable of improving our health and well-being and protecting our environment.The project overviews in the chapters on the nine flagships are supported by a ‘compass’ of projects and partnerships enabling easy identification of relevant activities. This overview provides details on the duration of projects and the focus of partnerships to facilitate early engagement with and uptake of the projects’ results.The report concludes that while the projects described provide sufficient coverage of actions to improve water and air quality, soil quality actions are still underrepresented among the three main pollution action areas and research in this area could be strengthened. It recommends that interested parties reach out to relevant projects that are already under way, so that the new knowledge and results can help in solving the problems of citizens, authorities and the industry.Horizon Europe partnerships and missions are invited to use this report in their future work to boost their contribution to the Zero Pollution Ambition under the Green Deal. This publication also seeks to contribute to the public debate on the next strategic agenda of Horizon Europe and to stimulate newresearch projects to aim to achieve the Zero Pollution Ambition.The report encourages readers to dig deeper into the portfolio of projects and find those that could support them in their fight against pollution. The list of Horizon projects is by no means exhaustive, but it highlights the contribution that research projects can make to the goals forming the Zero PollutionAmbition. For more information on projects not covered here, please visit the Community Research and Development Information Service website (www.cordis.eu).