Global Framework Sets Goals for Nixing Hazardous Chemicals by 2035
Some 28 targets for improvement and remediation have been named by the newly formed Global Framework on Chemicals whose goal it will be to enhance the responsible management of chemicals, pollution and waste.
Announced last month in Bonn, Germany, at the Fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5), the group was born of sustained negotiations with participating nations, with one of those nations, Germany, financing a $21.15 million (20 million Euros) trust fund to be administered by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Additional funds will come from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations. An integrated financing approach has been adopted to make sure private sector funding aligns with the primary goals of the organization.
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According to UNEP, participating governments can explore new policies and incentives to encourage adaptation in the chemicals industry and related sectors, and may include the phasing out of highly toxic pesticides before the 2035 target.
The chemical industry is being urged to invest in eco-friendly alternatives that will lead to a more sustainable future. It is hoped that the dissemination of scientific data will inform the public and government’s demand for a toxin-free environment.
The year 2030 has been targeted as a first deadline for seeing change. The framework has called for the imposition of regulations to reduce chemical pollutants in favor of safer alternatives by 2030, and the phasing out of hazardous agricultural pesticides to be eliminated by 2035 also in favor of safer alternatives. It also calls for the alignment of its tenets with other vital environmental agendas like climate action, conservation of biodiversity, human rights and public health.
The establishment of the framework is being called “an historic decision,” to address a problem the World Health Organization says contributes to two million deaths annually, with far reaching ecological and societal consequences.
It is part of a network of international agreements like the Sustainable Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as a global treaty on plastic pollution currently under negotiation.
“Everyone on this planet should be able to live and work without fear of falling sick or dying from chemical exposure,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “Nature, free from pollution, should be able to thrive and support humanity for millennia to come.”
The new framework also calls for the interdiction of the illegal trade and trafficking of chemicals and waste, as well as the management of chemicals in multiple other sectors like industry, agriculture and healthcare. It is being recognized on the same level as the crisis in climate change and biodiversity loss.
The new framework is the culmination of a process that started in Bucharest in September 2022, two years after ICCM5 was scheduled but cancelled because of the pandemic.
