On 20 April 2023, representatives of European regions and city councils, the European Parliament, civil society groups and environment and health experts will meet in Strasbourg to explore the role of cities and local authorities in protecting people’s health and the environment against harmful endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

The symposium is organised by Réseau Environnement Santé (RES), in partnership with the city and Eurométropole of Strasbourg, EDC-Free Europe and the Baltic Environmental Forum (BEF) Germany, and will be hosted in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The event aims at promoting and sharing initiatives taken at the regional and local levels to increase awareness, prevention, and actions to inform citizens and decision makers about endocrine disrupting chemicals, and help reduce exposure.

The use of and exposure to endocrine disruptors is on the rise, representing a serious risk to human health, the environment and wildlife. The health costs of exposure to such chemicals are estimated to be at least 163 billion Euros per year in Europe alone. The exposure to EDCs is associated with adverse effects on human health including, among others, increased risk in certain cancers, developmental disorders, reduced fertility, diabetes and obesity.

The event will gather representatives from French regions (Alsace, Grand Est, Île-de-France and Centre-Val de Loire), in addition to representatives from the cities of Hamburg, Helsinki, Limoges, Lyon, Nice, Riga, Stockholm and Strasbourg. A representative of the European Committee of the Regions, Members of the European Parliament and of the European Commission, as well as key scientific experts from Belgium, Sweden, Poland, Germany and France will join the discussion and present initiatives taken to inform and limit the exposure of citizens and the environment to EDCs.

Click here for more information on the programme.

As progress to improve EU legislation on chemicals is slow, cities, regional and local authorities have a key role to play in efforts to minimise people’s exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. EDC-Free Europe campaign members and partners across Europe are working with local and regional legislators to take concrete actions towards EDC-Free cities and territories:  

These initiatives were highlighted in the European Parliament Resolution of 10 July 2020 on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (2020/2531(RSP)) and in the policy recommendations of the 2019 Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions: Towards a Comprehensive EU Framework on Endocrine Disruptors.