April 1, 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay. Today, the full Global Chemicals Outlook II (advance version) was launched during the third meeting of the Open-ended Working group of the International conference on Chemicals management (SAICM). The synthesis report was launched on March 11 2019 at the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. This landmark study highlights an alarming picture about the unintended consequences of society’s use of chemicals. The report comments that the human and environmental cost of chemical pollution continues to grow, despite many commitments and initiatives to address the problem.
Urgent action is needed to tackle chemical pollution, especially in light of the fact that the global chemical industry is set to double production by 2030. The benefits from addressing chemical pollution are estimated to yield tens of billions of dollars annually. Encouragingly, there is growing interest in developing green and sustainable chemistry innovations and signals that a new global framework for chemical management may emerge to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Global Chemicals Outlook II: From Legacies to Innovative Solutions – Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been prepared by UN Environment over the past three years through a process involving more than 400 scientists and experts around the world. Representatives from The Natural Step’s chemicals coalition in the German and Swedish offices have contributed to the report, lending their expertise from working with the chemical industry and downstream sectors.
The Natural Step is a partner to UN Environment (UNEP) and is providing further input on the topic of sustainable chemistry and materials management. To learn more about our involvement and views on chemicals and sustainability, or to contact our representatives, visit www.thenaturalstep.org/chemicals.
Further Reading:
- UN Environment Press Release (11-03-2019)
- Global Chemicals Outlook II Synthesis Report
- Global Chemicals Outlook II Full report downloads