Suchergebnisse

Ende September 2023 hat die Weltchemikalienkonferenz (ICCM5) mit der Verabschiedung des "Global Framework on Chemicals" (GFC) über das Folge-Rahmenwerk für SAICM entschieden. Das GFC hat den weltweiten nachhaltigen Umgang mit Chemikalien über deren gesamten Lebenszyklus inklusive daraus hergestellter Produkte und Abfälle zum Ziel. In dieser Studie wurden Indikatoren unter Nutzung des Konzepts der Nachhaltigen Chemie erarbeitet. Zu diesem Zweck wurden etablierte Indikatoren auf ihre Anwendbarkeit durchsucht und anhand Kriterien charakterisiert. Die Kriterien berücksichtigen u.a. Relevanz, Eindeutigkeit, Messbarkeit und Verfügbarkeit von Daten sowie wichtige Kriterien der Nachhaltigen Chemie.

At the end of September 2023, the fifth International Conference on Chemicals (ICCM5) adopted the Global Framework for Chemicals (GFC), the follow-up framework for the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). The GFC aims to ensure the sustainable application of chemicals worldwide throughout their entire life cycle, including the products and waste produced from them. In this study, indicators were developed - in parallel to the ongoing discussions on target setting - using the concept of sustainable chemistry. This concept is based on a cross-system approach involving numerous interfaces, such as the use of renewable resources, occupational health and safety, and the recycling of waste. The collection of data should be as simple as possible as well as practicable in developing and newly industrializing countries. To this end, indicators introduced in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), numerous international conventions and existing reporting formats were examined for their applicability. Their suitability was assessed using criteria developed in the project. The criteria take into account importance, specificity, data availability, and key sustainable chemistry fundamentals, among other factors. The project team discussed the criteria and candidate indicators in six international workshops and in dialogue with more than twenty experts from around the world. Interim results were published on a cloud accessible to all participating experts. This resulted in a list of 45 indicators suitable for future work in international chemicals management. These were structured according to various issues. We propose 23 indicators for future work in the "sound management of chemicals and waste". Several of the indicators developed in this project are also suitable for tracking targets of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) of the European Commission. A preliminary analysis of the targets adopted at ICCM5 in September 2023 showed that the indicators developed in this study make a good contribution to the upcoming discussion on appropriate indicators for the GFC.

The European Green Deal, published as one major work stream of the new European Commission at the end of 2019, represents a new and ambitious approach to put environment and sustainability more at the heart of European policy. The announcements there must now be brought to life through various strategies and implementation measures. This study analyses the European Green Deal from the perspective of the German Environment Agency and places it in the context of the global challenge of achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals. To this end, the individual thematic areas of the European Green Deal and their measures are analysed and we discuss what further measures may be necessary to achieve the self-imposed EU goals, but also the United Nations goals and other long-term goals such as the Paris Climate Agreement. In addition to necessary measures in the fields of human well-being, sustainable economic activity, sustainable food systems, climate and energy, urban development and digitalization, the paper also clearly states that structural adjustments are needed as key levers to achieve the desired goals. New approaches are needed in the governance of sustainability policy, in the economic and financial sector, in civil society involvement, and in science and innovation. The study concludes that the European Green Deal is an important step forward, but that further efforts beyond those described there are still needed in order to achieve a sustainable Europe.