Geneva, Switzerland
4 June 2021
The report is launched at the occasion of United Nations World Environment Day on 5th June 2021, and ahead of key upcoming international meetings later this year on biodiversity, on climate change and on hazardous chemicals and wastes,[1] identifying options for better coordinating actions in addressing these issues.
Climate change and the management of hazardous chemicals and wastes are key global environmental challenges for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The new report, entitled “Chemicals, Wastes and Climate Change: Interlinkages and Potential for Coordinated Action”, adds to previous information provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in pointing out that:
Climate change can lead to increased releases of hazardous chemicals into the environment. One example is that the melting of polar and alpine glaciers, permafrost and ocean ice induced by climate change results in releases of trapped hazardous chemicals, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury. Projections suggest that under a high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenario, mercury emissions from permafrost could reach a peak of 1.9 ± 1.1 Gg Hg per year in 2200, the equivalent of current global atmospheric emissions. Furthermore, the melting of sea ice and permafrost, sometimes compounded by increased precipitation, can lead to local contamination due to physical disruption and damage of pipelines and storage facilities, leading to oil and chemical spills.
Climate change can lead to increasing use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, to combat higher incidences of pest and disease outbreaks, as increased distribution, growth and reproduction of pests is observed at higher temperatures and in wetter conditions, and because the efficacy of pesticides decreases with increased temperature. Pesticide usage as a result of both increased temperature and precipitation could rise by 1.1 to 2.5% by 2040 and by 2.4 to 9.1% by 2070 in China alone, despite current efforts to reduce pesticide usage. Robust strategies are thus required for pest and disease mitigation to avoid excessive growth in pesticide use.
Increased mobilization and volatilization of chemicals from materials storage and stockpiles will occur as temperatures rise. These effects will be most relevant in the case of chemicals with relatively low direct emissions during manufacturing and chemicals which are not readily incorporated into materials. For example, it is estimated that 240,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticides are stockpiled in Eastern Europe alone, and that between 4 and 7 million tonnes of HCH isomers, generated as a by-product of the manufacture of the POP Lindane, have been stockpiled globally since the 1950s. Abandoned stockpiles of compounds containing heavy metal