My thanks to Germany, host and the president of the fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5). And to the delegates who have been putting in the hard work of negotiating a new global chemicals instrument.
Friends, we are close to a deal that will help retain the benefits of chemicals, while protecting human, planetary and economic health. In the next few days, close to a deal must become a closed deal.
What we are working on was supposed to be the beyond-2020 framework on the sound management of chemicals and waste. Not the beyond-2023 framework. There were reasons for not delivering the deal earlier. But there can be no further delay.
Yes, chemicals are essential for medicines, consumer products, food and more. But unsound management across the life cycle means hazardous and long-lived chemicals are polluting our air, water, land and bodies.
Since the original deadline for a new framework, World Health Organization estimates mean that millions of people have likely died from direct chemical pollution of air, water, land and workplaces. Countless ecosystems and species have been polluted and poisoned. Trillions of dollars in damages have likely been incurred.
And the chemicals industry is growing. Fast. Without reform, the harm caused by unsound management of chemicals will also grow. Fast. So, adopting the framework – in the strongest, most specific, and most inclusive terms, backed with the right finance for developing nations – is urgent.
I urge everyone to show compromise and creativity to get the job done, for us and for generations to come.
I ask for compromise, because in a complex deal of this sort, it is not possible for everyone to get what they want. That is how negotiations work. But let me clear: I am not asking for a compromise in which everyone is unhappy. I am asking for a compromise in which everybody gets enough of what they want to make the framework workable.
I ask for creativity because this is how we will make the compromises work.
I am talking about creativity from companies and nations that produce, use and sell chemicals.
Look, when the ozone layer was being depleted, governments and industry found alternatives to Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and made change happen. The cooling industry is booming today and is lauded for protecting the ozone layer. There is no reason the same thing cannot happen in the chemicals and chemical-dependents industries.
In the spirit of, and informed by, the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, I ask governments to dream up new policies and incentives that will pull the chemicals industry – and key sectors such as agriculture, construction and manufacturing – to adapt their business practices.
And I ask the trillion-dollar chemicals industry to get ahead of the game and show what it can do in, for example, finding green and sustainable alternatives to hazardous chemicals.
In this regard, I ask all parties to support the plastic pollution deal under negotiation, as mentioned in the draft text. To remove harmful chemicals from plastics, and find safe alternatives to plastics, we need chemists and engineers working at the top of their game.
And I ask everyone to support the UNEP-hosted science-policy panel negotiations on chemicals, waste and pollution prevention. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) have shown, science can provide solutions and spark innovation as well as a deeper and better understanding.
I am also talking about creativity in financing.
Other agreements have stalled over what kind of pot needs to be created for financing. Funding mechanisms are important. But are we perhaps missing the bigger picture? Is it the pot that matters, or what we put in it? After all, there is no point handing a pot to somebody dying of thirst but forgetting to fill it with water.
So, I challenge everyone to focus their creativity on financing solutions, from many sources. We have seen solutions in the past: blended finance, funding windows in existing mechanisms, innovative fiscal policies, debt swaps and more. What creative solutions can this instrument deliver that will unlock the necessary finance?
Friends,
2030 is the year in which we are supposed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meet national targets to keep climate change in check under the Paris Agreement. Hit the wide-ranging and ambitious targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Without strong and urgent action on ending chemical and waste pollution, these commitments will not be met.
Look, I understand this is a great upheaval. But it is necessary. And it is an upheaval that can lighten the burden of the unsound management of chemicals and waste. Safeguard the planetary systems we all depend on. And keep private sector players and economies in fine financial fettle.
We are within touching distance of a deal that will help deliver a pollution-free world. So, I ask nations and their negotiators, and everyone else at the table, to take the last step. Grab that deal with both hands. Lean in. And start to deliver on the vision of a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste, for a safe, healthy and sustainable future.
