The Air in Your Home Can Kill You: The Climate Injustice Threatening Europe’s Most Vulnerable

Indoor pollution, heatwaves, unhealthy housing: across Europe, the poorest are paying the highest price for a double health and environmental crisis. Their physical and mental health are at stake.

How do indoor pollution and climate change turn our homes into danger zones, especially for the most vulnerable?

Breathing Clean Air Is a Privilege

Did you know that indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air?
Your own home could be a danger zone. Invisible pollution, stifling heat, mold a silent crisis that first strikes the most vulnerable.

An invisible crisis that’s killing us in our own homes

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.1 billion people worldwide are exposed to indoor air pollution, causing 3.2 million deaths in 2020  including more than 237,000 children under the age of five.
In Europe, the use of gas stoves alone is responsible for about 40,000 deaths each year.

In working-class neighborhoods, the environment amplifies these risks: concrete everywhere, endless traffic, little greenery.
Rania, 21, a young activist from Aubervilliers, near Paris, explains:

“In working-class neighborhoods, our living conditions are far from what eco-friendly cities should be. We face visual, noise and air pollution. There’s concrete and cars everywhere, unlike in wealthier areas. We’re the forgotten ones in the climate debate.”

Allycia, 21, from Les Pavillons-sous-Bois, adds:

“In our area, there are barely any green spaces. Pollution has exploded, and I know people who never had asthma but developed it in recent years. They say pollution is killing them  and it’s getting worse. There are also diseases we don’t even identify yet.”

A Worrying Reality Across Europe

According to RAND Europe (2022), 31 % of European households face indoor climate risks such as humidity, poor insulation, or mold.
These figures mirror the daily lives of Rania and Allycia.

Record-breaking heatwaves make things even worse. In July 2024, Southeastern Europe endured 13 consecutive days of extreme heat, affecting more than half the region. In homes without ventilation or air conditioning, temperatures became unbearable especially for the elderly and the sick.

Southern countries like Italy, Greece, and Spain have been among the hardest hit over the past 30 years, with tens of thousands of deaths and massive economic losses caused by extreme climate events.
But France, and particularly the Seine-Saint-Denis district near Paris, faces the same thermal injustice: smaller, poorly insulated homes surrounded by concrete and lacking green space.

A Historical Context Too Often Forgotten

Since the Industrial Revolution, global temperatures have risen by more than 1.5 °C.
Some European regions  especially in the south and east have already exceeded +2 °C.
As climate expert François Gemenne, a lead author of the IPCC, warns:

The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the century is completely out of reach.

Despite pledges made at COP21 and COP25, progress remains slow, particularly for vulnerable communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed  and often deepened these environmental and health inequalities.

Who Pays the Highest Price?

The victims are often the elderly, isolated people, and families with young children.

Tatina, 32, a mother of three from Saint-Denis, explains:

“I’ve reported the humidity, but nothing changes. I clean with vinegar, but the smell keeps coming back.”

Fatima, 36, also from Seine-Saint-Denis, says:

“I don’t open my windows anymore because of the noise and the mosquitoes. My son’s nose is always running  we think it’s the damp.”

Their stories reflect a hidden crisis: unhealthy, poorly ventilated homes threatening both body and mind and voices that remain unheard in most environmental discussions.

 Climate Injustice: When Ecology Forgets the Poor

This is what we call climate injustice: those most affected by pollution and global warming are the least represented in the fight against it.

Rania puts it clearly:

Environmentalism is also a social, feminist, decolonial, and anti-racist struggle. If ecology only serves rich white men, it’s not ecology.”

Allycia adds:

“During the Paris Olympics, anti-pollution measures were introduced  but why only in our area, the 93? Other working-class neighborhoods didn’t benefit from anything.”

 Irène’s Testimony

Irène Colonna d’Istria, 29, director of the ‘Just Transition’ program at Makesense, highlights the same link between ecology and social justice:

“In 2019, during a trip to Brazil, I saw how Indigenous communities suffer most from climate impacts, while the Global North is largely responsible. That experience made me realize ecology and social justice are inseparable.
In working-class neighborhoods, people face poor housing, pollution, and isolation. Climate change only worsens this by making public services and green spaces even less accessible.”

Her words echo those of Rania and Allycia: the people most exposed to pollution and heat are the least heard in ecological debates.

Climate change and indoor air pollution are two closely linked phenomena.

Definitions:
According to the UN, climate change refers to gradual variations in local or global climate characteristics, primarily caused by warming from human activities.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns about indoor air pollution. This often results from the use of inefficient fuels and appliances that emit harmful fine particles. In poorly ventilated homes, these particles can reach concentrations up to 100 times above recommended limits, penetrating deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

Among the most vulnerable are:

• Older adults
• Children and infants
• Pregnant women
• People with disabilities
• Those living in energy poverty or in substandard housing

The Hidden Causes of Indoor Pollution

According to the ARS, we spend on average 80% of our time in enclosed spaces. The quality of the air we breathe there affects our health and comfort.

Indoor air pollution comes from several main sources:

• Building materials and furniture releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs);
• Gas stoves emitting nitrogen dioxide;
• Cleaning and fragrance products rich in solvents;
• Moisture and mold caused by poor insulation;
• Radon, a radioactive gas in some regions.

These pollutants trigger allergies, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and even cancers. In Europe, around 40,000 deaths per year are linked to this invisible threat.

Angelina, 28, from Le Bourget, puts it simply:

“It’s not about neglect it’s about money. We buy what we can afford: cheap products, secondhand furniture, whatever housing we’re offered.”

Endocrine Disruptors

Found in toys, cleaning products, plastics, textiles  these chemicals interfere with hormonal balance, affecting fertility and child development, particularly in low-income households.

Aggravating Factors: Heat and Natural Disasters

Climate change amplifies these risks.
Heatwaves, energy poverty, and dense urban areas turn neighborhoods into urban heat traps.
In 2022 alone, more than 60,000 heat-related deaths were recorded in Europe.

In France, Seine-Saint-Denis again exemplifies this injustice: poorly insulated housing, few trees, no cool spaces.
In Mayotte, an overseas French territory, a devastating cyclone in 2024 destroyed hundreds of homes, leaving residents without water, electricity, or aid  a vivid reminder of how pollution and climate crises combine to deepen vulnerability.

Health Impacts

According to the WHO, indoor and outdoor air pollution together cause nearly 600,000 premature deaths per year in Europe.
The main illnesses are heart disease, stroke, COPD, and lung cancer.

But beyond the body, this crisis also weighs heavily on the mind.
Santé publique France reports higher rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders linked to pollution and extreme heat.
In dense neighborhoods, the lack of greenery and sense of confinement lead to mental fatigue  especially among women and young people.

 Solutions Do Exist: Towards Inclusive and Fair Ecology

Across France, several associations are proving that ecology, health, and solidarity can go hand in hand.

• Solidarités Jeunesse engages young people through workshops that transform eco-anxiety into action.
• Aremacs raises awareness about waste reduction during cultural and sports events, turning environmentalism into a collective, joyful experience.
• The Climate Fresk, supported by Paris’s Académie du Climat, runs collaborative workshops to help citizens understand and act on climate change.
• The FondaMental Foundation and its Pollupsy program explore the links between air pollution and mental health, offering safe spaces for those affected by climate anxiety.
• The Pop & Psy Festival combines talks, roundtables, and cultural events to break the silence around mental well-being and climate.

These initiatives show that protecting the planet also means protecting people their health, dignity, and hope.

Key Takeaways

Indoor pollution and climate change are silent killers.
They strike hardest at children, the elderly, and low-income families.
Unhealthy housing and extreme heat are not just uncomfortable  they deepen social and health inequalities.

But climate injustice is not inevitable.
It results from political and economic choices  and those can be changed.
Guaranteeing everyone the right to breathe clean air and live in a safe environment means protecting our common future.