Introduction
Section “Obstacles in addressing IoCs” describes challenges in addressing SAICM issues of concern. The UN Global Chemicals Outlook II (GCO II) states that “solutions exist, but more ambitious worldwide action by all stakeholders is urgently required”.
Stakeholders should continue working together to ensure that chemical safety issues are part of the global and national targets, development agendas, and poverty eradication strategies.
For these reasons, a number of stakeholders suggested that the successor to SAICM (or SAICM 2.0) should contain a new mechanism of action, a process whereby IoCs for which inadequate progress has been made should be progressed to mechanisms with increased levels of obligations on stakeholders. For example, a legally binding protocol, a treaty, mandatory action plans and reporting, or other such agreements that place requirements on stakeholders should be discussed. The idea was first presented at the third meeting of the Intersessional Process (IP3) and was further updated for IP4.
Updated Triggers for moving Issues of Concern (IoC) to the level with increased obligations were included in the list of information documents for IP4 with detailed explanation.
Triggers include:
- Failure to reduce acute poisoning and/or chronic effects by chemicals that are IoCs. Failure to reduce the levels of chemicals that are IoCs in human and environmental samples.
Failure to reduce the volume of the production, use, and disposal of substances of very high concern relevant to an IoC.
Insufficient monitoring of human and environmental impacts by an IoC.
Significant costs for society in the absence of action to address an IoC, including healthcare costs for individuals and the state; loss of IQ and productivity; loss of pollinators, natural biological control of pests, and other ecosystem services; loss of biodiversity; and costs of chemical contamination of natural resources, such as air, soil and water including but not limited to large-scale environmental clean-up and remediation costs.
National regulations have failed to achieve sufficient improvement in the IoC.
Regional regulations for addressing an IoC are in place, or under development.
Failure to establish an effective, transparent multi-stakeholder working platform on an IoC.
Failure to make available the information necessary for addressing an IoC.
Failure to reduce the level of disposal and contamination of waste of relevance to an IoC.