A peer-reviewed article published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters and co-authored by a number of IPCP members and colleagues provides examples of assessments that the intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention being established under a mandate of the United Nations Environment Assembly could take on. The Panel is being established under a mandate of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
The first example is retrospective and addresses pharmaceutical pollution, which is increasingly important, especially in low and middle-income countries. The Panel’s assessment could identify data gaps, develop regionally attuned policy options for mitigation, promote “benign-by-design” chemistry, explore educational and capacity-building activities, and investigate financial mechanisms for implementation.
The second example is prospective and addresses risks posed by chemicals and waste release from critical technological infrastructure and waste sites vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather events. Multisectoral and multidisciplinary inputs are needed to map and develop “disaster-proofing” responses along with financing mechanisms.
The Panel offers the ambition and mechanisms for enabling much-needed assessments explicitly framed as inputs to policy-making, to protect, and support local to global human and environmental health.
Article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00294