Treaties link pollution to broader harm

A group of nations is exploring ways of using global regulations for hazardous chemicals and wastes to confront what it calls a "triple planetary crisis" of dangerous pollution, global warming and species losses.

Linkages between the issues dominated a meeting of more than 100 ministers and other government officials and delegates to three treaties — the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions — held in the Swedish capital on Wednesday.

Delegates say the three crises are mainly a human-made problem, arising from the mismanagement of chemicals and waste, overconsumption and unsustainable production, and that a big part of the solution will require better informing and engaging young people to advocate for a "toxic-free" planet.

“Each year, one in six deaths is attributed to pollution,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program based in Nairobi. “But the BRS Conventions have responded to the call of tackling this crisis.”

The three treaties, managed by a single Swiss-based secretariat in Geneva, are science-based, legally binding global agreements for protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes.

The Basel Convention includes 53 nations and regulates the export and import of hazardous waste. The Rotterdam Convention has 72 nations and regulates information about the export and import of hazardous chemicals. The Stockholm Convention extends to 152 nations and takes aim at chemicals that can travel long distances in the environment and don’t break down easily.

The human dimension

The BRS Secretariat's executive secretary, Rolph Payet, a former environment and energy minister in Seychelles, said that “for a sustainable transformation to happen, we need the buy-in of politicians and the private sector, but also the individuals.”

Other called for more safely designed and sustainable chemicals that do less damage in waste streams, and for increased spending by governments and international organizations towards innovative technologies and financing.

“The human dimension should never be understated, as we are part of the chemicals and wastes problem, and its solution,” said Czech Republic's Deputy Environment Minister Jan Dusík.

The meeting marked the first time in five years that ministers gathered to discuss the three treaties. It was held in adance of a two-day summit dubbed Stockholm+50, which commemorates the June 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Sweden — the first world conference to treat the environment as a major issue.

Another two decades would pass before the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio galvanized the global environmental movement with the first agreement to accept voluntary controls on greenhouse gases through a treaty committing them to work "to protect the climate system for present and future generations."