I am Gaëlle, from Surfrider Foundation Europe. I carry out our advocacy work in Brussels to shape European policies in favour of the environment and your health.

2021 will be a decisive year for the environment and you will have a crucial role to play. Following on from the Green Deal presented a year ago, the European Commission will adopt an action plan against pollution this year. Its goal: a healthier planet for healthier people.

This project is ambitious. It will tackle at the same time air, soil and water pollution. This is a strategic opportunity to which Surfrider will have to respond.

The consequences of pollution are increasingly heavy for us and our environment. More than 400,000 premature deaths per year are due to pollution. Heat waves and floods are to intensify, exposing more and more people to climate change.

The pollution of the water we drink or we swim in by pollutants of all kinds – chemicals, plastics, microplastics, bacteria – is a threat to our well-being, our health and that of ecosystems. Pollution is also the main source of biodiversity loss, with already 16% of species threatened with extinction.

For all these reasons, it is high time we acted against pollution! The Commission’s action plan will be made public in Spring 2021. You have the opportunity to influence European policies!

Are you ready to join me in bringing the voice of the ocean?

I will get back to you in a few days to introduce the actions we will take to make our demands heard.

See you soon,