Preventing, controlling and managing pollution is central to improving health, human well-being and prosperity for all.
UNEP drives capacity and leadership in sound management of chemicals and waste while working to improve ways to reduce waste through circularity and pollutants released to the air, water, soil and the ocean.
The 5th session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) kicks off today in Bonn, Germany. Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, Director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division published an op-ed ahead of the start of conference. Aggarwal-Khan writes:
“Behind every statistic lies a personal tragedy — a worker exposed to toxic fumes, a child affected by water contamination, a community grappling with the aftermath of environmental degradation.”
ICCM5 offers a unique opportunity for governments, industries and the civil society to come together and embrace stringent regulatory frameworks for chemicals management.
The 2023 WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin reveal that climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of heatwaves. This extreme heat, compounded by wildfires and desert dust, is having a measurable impact on air quality, human health and the environment.
Ahead of the third session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-3) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, the INC Chair, as requested at INC-2, has prepared with the support of the INC Secretariat, and published a ‘Zero draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment’ (UNEP/PP/INC.3/4). The text is guided by the views expressed at the committee’s first and second sessions and reflects the objective and mandate of United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14.
Member States will be invited to start negotiations on the basis of the Zero Draft text at INC-3, which will take place from 13 to 19 November at UNEP’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
The zero draft is initially available in an advanced version in English, with five additional languages to be published by 2 October 2023.
The Secretariat will also prepare a synthesis report of the submissions received on elements not discussed at the second session, such as principles and scope of the instrument, to be released in October.
Cada dólar gastado en la restauración de bosques degradados puede resultar en US$ 30 en beneficios económicos.
