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News Chemicals & pollution action

Spotlight on chemicals and pollution action

UNEP

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.

Below are chemicals and pollution highlights from the United Nations System, from partners and from others helping to call attention to the fact that the future of humanity and our planet depends on action now. 

25 Apr 2024 17:42

Applying for funding through the Special Programme

Apply through the UNEP Special Programme.

Last updated at 25 April 2024, 5.42pm EAT
22 Apr 2024 19:07

UN expert publishes User Guide on right to healthy and sustainable environment

Two women in a conversation in the early hours of the morning in Bagan, Myanmar.
Photo: Unsplash/Robert Collins

To commemorate International Mother Earth Day, David R. Boyd, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, has issued a User Guide on the right to a healthy and sustainable environment. Find out more.

Last updated at 23 April 2024, 4.12pm EAT
19 Apr 2024 13:11

Critical negotiations on plastic pollution begin on 23 April

Hands holding small pieces of plastic
Photo: UNEP

Since the 1950s, 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, of which 7 billion tonnes have become waste, filling up landfills and polluting lakes, rivers, the soil and the ocean. 

From April 23 to 29, delegates are expected to gather in the Canadian capital of Ottawa for the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-4).

It is the penultimate meeting before negotiations are expected to conclude later this year.  

“Both people and planet are suffering profoundly from the effects of plastic pollution,” said Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the INC. “This negotiating session is pivotal. It is an opportunity to make significant progress for a robust agreement that would allow future generations to live in a world free of plastic pollution.” 

Read more on INC-4.

Last updated at 19 April 2024, 1.11pm EAT
15 Apr 2024 11:09

World Circular Economy Forum 2024

Event poster for the World Circular Economy Forum 2024

The World Circular Economy Forum 2024, the world's premier gathering for circular economy thinkers, doers, and leaders, will take place in Brussels this week, 15–18 April, 2024. It will highlight the most effective circular solutions from throughout the world. The International Resource Panel will present the most recent findings of the Global Resources Outlook 2024, as well as policy-relevant messages, in a series of events.
 

Last updated at 15 April 2024, 11.09am EAT
12 Apr 2024 16:13

It's time to #beatplasticpollution

In this video, we explain why plastic has become so ubiquitous, used in everything from children’s toys and medical equipment to beauty products and airplanes. And while plastic was once hailed as a miracle product, we now know the damage plastic pollution does to ecosystems, the climate, human health and the economy.

Central to ending plastic pollution is the elimination of unnecessary plastic, the redesign of products – including packaging – so they can be more easily reused, repaired and recycled, and switching to non-plastic substitutes that help protect the environment, human health, and our economy. 

It's time to #beatplasticpollution

Last updated at 12 April 2024, 4.13pm EAT
02 Apr 2024 20:31

Global efforts needed to combat waste trafficking to Southeast Asia, new research by UNODC and UNEP reveals

Illegal trade in waste (or waste trafficking) is a type crime that affects the environment and is a growing problem across the world. Once it reaches destination countries, illegal waste often ends up in illegal landfills and illegal storage sites or is burnt in the open, causing harm to the environment and human health, undermining the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the transition toward a circular economy.

A first-ever mapping of waste trafficking trends from Europe to Southeast Asia has been published today. Produced by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNEP, the new research sheds light on how criminal actors exploit legal trade and regulatory and enforcement loopholes for financial gain. It also explores the negative impact this crime has on the global circular economy.

Last updated at 02 April 2024, 8.31pm EAT
02 Apr 2024 18:08

Revised draft text of international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution now available in all six UN languages

A single-use plastic water bottle in the ocean
Photo: Unsplash/Brian Yurasits

The revised draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is now available on the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4) webpage in all six UN official languages. To access the documents, please visit the official documents tab.

For further information, contact unep-incplastic.secretariat@un.org. 

Last updated at 02 April 2024, 6.25pm EAT
30 Mar 2024 11:43

#BeatWastePollution this #ZeroWasteDay

 

Last updated at 30 March 2024, 11.43am EAT
28 Mar 2024 19:33

Eight ways to overcome the waste pollution crisis

An aerial shot of waste pollution next to vegetation.
Photo: UNEP/Ollivier Girard

Humanity generates between 2.1 billion and 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste a year.  

When improperly managed, much of that refuse—from food and plastics to electronics and textiles—emits greenhouse gases or poisonous chemicals. This damages ecosystems, inflicts disease and threatens economic prosperity, disproportionately harming women and youth.

“Overconsumption is killing us. Humanity needs an intervention,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “On this Zero Waste Day, let’s pledge to end the destructive cycle of waste, once and for all.” 

Explore eight ways to embrace a zero waste approach.

Last updated at 28 March 2024, 7.33pm EAT
20 Mar 2024 19:51

5 things you should know about ‘clean energy’ minerals and the dirty process of mining them

A copper mine in Tabriz, Iran
Photo: Unsplash/Omid Roshan

If the world is to move away from fossil fuels, we will need to extract far more rare minerals, to power renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar plants. However, energy experts point out that mining these minerals can be a dirty process, ravaging the environment, and leading to human rights abuses. 

Mining can devastate the environment if done unsustainably, leading to deforestation, water pollution and what is known as dewatering. Just to take one example, it takes two million litres of water to extract a single tonne of lithium. But some 50 per cent of global copper and lithium production are concentrated in areas with water scarcity.

A UN-wide effort is under way to ensure energy transition minerals are fairly and sustainably managed. The push was launched in 2023, with the aim of building trust, reliability and sustainability into the supply chains of these minerals. 

Here are 5 things you should know about ‘clean energy’ minerals and the dirty process of mining them.

Last updated at 20 March 2024, 7.51pm EAT
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Related Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
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Goal 11

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Goal 15

Goal 15: Life on Land
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