Experts and activists have committed to take essential actions to fulfill a goal of sound chemicals management by 2020, but allowed the only programme funding activities in the most impacted countries to expire.
The $4 trillion per year chemical industry, which participates in the conference, also failed to offer new funds to pay their fair share of the costs of chemicals management and harm, said IPEN press release.
A very small global levy of 0.1% on the industry would yield more than $4bn/year, it added.
Delegates from government, industry, public interest groups, trade unions, and health professionals from more than 130 countries attended this year’s “The fourth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4)” held in Geneva, from September 28 to October 2.
ICCM4 is the implementing body of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), which is coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
“ICCM4 agreed to take actions on some critical toxic chemical issues,” said Olga Speranskaya, co-chair of IPEN.
“However, a five-year funding gap will make it extremely difficult to implement them. This makes the need for funding urgent. Governments, financial institutions, intergovernmental organisations and the chemical industry must each pay their fair share,” she added.
Current issues include highly hazardous pesticides, information about chemicals in products, eliminating lead paint, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical pollutants, and endocrine disrupting chemicals.
A key outcome at ICCM4 was a strategy to tackle the world’s worst pesticides – those that are highly hazardous and linked to a rising incidence of cancer and developmental disorders.
The decision at ICCM4 represents the first time that these substances will be addressed in a comprehensive way in a UN agreement.
Delegates took a major step towards sustainable agriculture by emphasising a more holistic agro-ecology approach.
“In Ethiopia, highly hazardous pesticides poison farmers and pollute the land,” said Tadesse Amera from the Pesticide Action Nexus.
“Now we need to get to work on the new strategy so that instead of poisoning ourselves with pesticides, we grow food in a way that respects human health, our land, and our water.”
Among the positive actions taken by this year’s ICCM4, delegates agreed to take concerted action on highly hazardous pesticides with an emphasis on promoting agroecology as an alternative and strengthening regulatory capacity.
ICCM4 recommended that companies identify and disclose harmful chemicals in their products and supply chains using both national laws and criteria for chemicals of concern.
Delegates recommended starting pilot participatory activities on information disclosure and signaled the need to make information disclosure equally available in developing countries.
Delegates called on equipment manufacturers to provide health and safety information to workers on chemicals they are handling or exposed to and to devise and implement take-back programmes at the end of life.
ICCM4 also signalled the need for procurement initiatives that favour greener electronic products and called on the industry to make safer products.