Germany published five-point plan on EDCs
EDCsEndocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are a threat to human health and the environment, and regulatory steps to achieve adequate protection against EDCs are urgently needed. On the EU level, there is very slow regulatory progress. Countries like The Netherlands and France published national action plans to tackle NGOs within their jurisdiction. After many years of pushing from NGOs, Germany finally published a national EDC five-point plan. It summarizes ongoing processes where the German government is participating and further intentions of carrying out awareness raising and other activities.
The five-point plan is a result of the promise of the government in their government coalition agreement to deliver an EDC action plan. However, the present plan does not contain many concrete activities. They will be described in another document, which is announced to be published at a later stage.
The EDC five-point plan covers the following aspects:
Enhance regulation: implementation of the EU Strategy for Sustainable Chemicals, food materials, pharmaceuticals, Humanbiomonitoring
Information sharing: information sharing and awareness-raising for the public, experts, and multipliers
Support joint action: strengthen cooperation within the government, enhance enforcement
Advance research: research on national and European levels, identification of research gaps and needs
International cooperation: pilot projects and partnerships on a global level
The five-point plan is a good first step. However, concrete regulatory actions are needed, as well as awareness-raising measures. HEJSupport urges the German government to come up with a list of planned activities and an implementation roadmap, defining responsibilities and goals, as soon as possible. Sustainable financing is vital for implementation. Therefore, a sufficient budget should be allocated for the planned activities.
The EDC five-point plan can be downloaded here: https://www.bmuv.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Download_PDF/Chemikaliensicherheit/fuenf_punkte_plan_hormonell_schaedigende_stoffe_bf.pdf
Announcement of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection: https://www.bmuv.de/meldung/bundesregierung-praesentiert-umfassenden-schutzplan-gegen-hormonell-schaedigende-stoffe
