Policy brief sets roadmap towards zero pollution in European seas
Our new SOS-ZEROPOL2030 policy brief translates Europe’s zero-pollution ambition into a practical roadmap for action across the source-to-sea continuum.
| June 29th, 2026 | News
Europe has many of the policies, scientific capabilities and technologies needed to reduce pollution. The challenge now is to connect these efforts and accelerate implementation.
The new SOS-ZEROPOL2030 policy brief, “Towards Zero Pollution in European Seas: A Roadmap for Action from Source to Sea,” sets out practical recommendations to help Europe move from ambition to coordinated action. The recommendations support implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the European Ocean Pact.
Tackling pollution from source to sea
The policy brief places source-to-sea governance at the heart of the transition towards cleaner and healthier European seas. Pollution does not stop at administrative or sectoral boundaries: nutrients, chemicals and plastics released on land can travel through rivers, groundwater, wastewater and atmospheric pathways before reaching coastal and marine environments.
The brief therefore calls for stronger connections between freshwater, coastal and marine governance, alongside more integrated monitoring, harmonised reporting and better use of environmental data.
Four pollution challenges, one integrated approach
Drawing on scientific evidence and extensive stakeholder engagement within SOS-ZEROPOL2030, the roadmap focuses on four major pollution pressures:
- Nutrients – reducing nitrogen and phosphorus losses while supporting more sustainable agricultural systems.
- Hazardous substances – accelerating the transition towards safe and sustainable-by-design chemicals and materials, including the phase-out of non-essential PFAS uses.
- Microplastics – preventing emissions at source, including tyre wear particles, textile fibres, plastic pellets and paint-derived particles.
- Underwater noise – reducing pressures on marine ecosystems through quieter shipping, improved monitoring and stronger integration of noise into marine spatial planning.
Across all four areas, the policy brief highlights a common principle: prevention should be prioritised over remediation wherever possible.
Ten priority actions for Europe
The policy brief identifies ten high-priority actions that can help accelerate progress towards zero pollution. These include
- Mainstreaming source-to-sea governance
- Establishing integrated river–marine monitoring, harmonising environmental indicators and reporting
- Developing FAIR environmental data platforms
- Strengthening environmental performance incentives in the Common Agricultural Policy
- Accelerating Safe and Sustainable-by-Design approaches
- Phasing out non-essential PFAS uses
- Reducing diffuse microplastic emissions
- Harmonising underwater noise standards
- Developing EU-wide pollution dashboards and tracking systems
From ambition to implementation
The roadmap provides a long-term implementation pathway built around three stages:
2030 – 2035: Enable Change: establish the policies, governance arrangements, monitoring systems and enabling conditions needed for implementation.
2035 – 2040: Scale Solutions: accelerate proven technologies and approaches, strengthen collaboration and mainstream successful solutions.
2040–2050: Transform Systems: deliver structural change through fully integrated source-to-sea governance and pollution prevention.
The accompanying SOS-ZEROPOL2030 interactive Roadmap turns these recommendations into a practical planning tool. Users can explore actions according to pollutant, stakeholder group, implementation scale, policy maturity and technology readiness, while considering costs, barriers, opportunities and expected environmental, social and economic benefits.
Coordinated action is the key
The policy brief concludes that Europe does not need to start from scratch. Instead, the priority is to implement existing ambitions in a more coordinated way and at greater scale.
Achieving substantial reductions in pollution will require continued collaboration between policymakers, industry, researchers, service providers and civil society. By connecting action across the source-to-sea continuum, the SOS-ZEROPOL2030 roadmap aims to help turn Europe’s zero-pollution ambition into measurable progress towards cleaner seas, healthier ecosystems and greater resilience.
The transition to zero pollution begins with decisions taken today.