Mon, Oct 22, 2012 -
Three other chemicals proposed for listing
in the Stockholm Convention on POPs are
to be evaluated for management of their
risks - 19 October 2012, Geneva - A UN expert
body has recommended that the industrial
flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)
be eliminated from the global marketplace
to protect human health and the environment.
HBCD is used mainly in expanded polystyrene
and extruded polystyrene. It is also used
in textile coatings and in high impact polystyrene
for electrical and electronic equipment.
The Persistent Organic
Pollutants Review Committee, a subsidiary
body of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs), adopted a recommendation
to include HBCD in the Convention's Annex
A for elimination, with specific exemptions
for expanded and extruded polystyrene needed
to give countries time to phase-in safer
substitutes. The recommendation will now
be sent to the Parties to the Stockholm
Convention for consideration at the sixth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties,
scheduled to be held from 28 April to 10
May 2013, in Geneva.
The Committee adopted
a total of 12 decisions, including on industrial
chemicals chlorinated naphthalenes (CNs)
and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), and the
pesticide pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its
salts and esters,which now willmove forward
to the next stage of review.
The Committee adopted
risk profiles of CNs and HCBD. Regarding
short-chained chlorinated paraffins, the
Committee agreed that the information was
currently insufficient to support a decision
on the risk profile and agreed to consider
any new information that may be made available
to the Committee and to consider the chemical
again at its eleventh meeting.
"As the premier
scientific body supporting the global elimination
of persistent organic pollutants, the POPs
Review Committee has built upon its past
successes and recommended yet another highly
toxic POP - HBCD - for global elimination,
and made great progress in its work on several
other hazardous chemicals," said Jim
Willis, Executive Secretary of the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
Note for Editors:
The Stockholm Convention
on POPs regulates chemicals that are persistent,
bioaccumulative and toxic, to protect human
health and the environment globally. Article
8 of the Convention entails the reviewing
process of new chemicals and Annex D, Annex
E and Annex F specify the information required
for the review.
The POPs Review Committee
consists of thirty-one scientific experts
elected by the Conference of the Parties
to the Stockholm Convention charged with
undertaking scientific review of chemicals
proposed for listing. The Committee met
in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 19 October
2012.
Chlorinated naphthalenes
(CNs) were used for decades for wood preservation,
as an additive to paints and engine oils,
and for cable insulation and in capacitors.
Until the 1970s, CNs were high volume chemicals.
Hexachlorobutadiene
(HCBD) was a widely used fumigant used to
control pests and as an industrial solvent.
HCBD also occurs as a by-product during
production of other chlorinated solvents.
Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
is an organochlorine compound used as a
pesticide and a disinfectant. A wealth of
data on the adverse effects of pentachlorophenol
in mammals show developmental, immunotoxic
and neurotoxic effects. Human survivors
of toxic exposures may suffer permanent
visual and central nervous system damage.
Short-chained chlorinated
paraffins (SCCP) are a group of industrial
chemicals used in metalworking, and the
formulation and manufacturing of products
such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics
and metalworking fluids. They are of concern
because they are persistent, have been found
in remote areas such as the Arctic, and
could accumulate to levels that are toxic
to fish and other aquatic organisms.
The ninth meeting of
the POPs Review Committee will be held in
Rome, Italy, from 14 to 18 October 2013
back-to-back with the Chemical Review Committee
of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior
Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous
Chemicals and Pesticides in International
Trade.
+ More
Environmental Economist
Pavan Sukhdev Named New UNEP Goodwill Ambassador
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 -
Mr. Pavan Sukhdev (L), designated as UNEP
Goodwill Ambassador by Achim Steiner (R),
UNEP Executive Director at the CBD Conference
of the Parties (COP 11) held in Hyderabad,
India
Hyderabad (India), 16
October 2012 - Indian banker and long-standing
environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev today
pledged to use his profile and influence
to further the goals of the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) as the organization's newest
Goodwill Ambassador.
Mr. Sukhdev, who has
a long association with UNEP, joins such
luminaries as French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand,
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen
and American actor Don Cheadle in raising
awareness of and support for environmental
causes.
Further Resources
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB)UNEP Goodwill AmbassadorsTowards a
Green Economy. Pathways to sustainable and
poverty eradicationUNEP Green Economy InitiativeMr.
Sukhdev spent over 20 years working at ANZ
Bank and Deutsche Bank, and now heads GIST,
an organization that helps governments and
corporations to understand and better manage
their impacts on natural and human capital.
He also served as the study leader for the
UNEP-hosted Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity Report - a major international
partnership to draw attention to the economic
benefits of biodiversity.
"It is an honour
to take up this role of championing UNEP's
work," said Mr. Sukhdev. "Governments
and business need to understand that our
ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources
are the backbone of our economies and their
value should be integrated into decision
making."
"As Goodwill Ambassador,
I will continue to bring this message home
as we strive to transit from 'business as
usual' to a sustainable, resource-efficient
Green Economy," he added.
Mr. Sukhdev and UNEP
are at the forefront of a movement that
points out that the world's fixation on
economic growth ignores a rapid and largely
irreversible depletion of natural resources
that will seriously harm future generations.
Biodiversity in particular
provides major economic benefits that are
sometimes overlooked.
As well as taking the
message to governments, Mr. Sukhdev will
target the corporate sector to show that
long-term profitability is ultimately dependent
on sustainable use of the earth's resources.
"With over 30 years
of experience in banking, markets and the
growing field of valuing natural capital,
Mr. Sukhdev is strongly positioned to generate
considerable support and awareness in business
and finance for UNEP's work on the Green
Economy," said UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"He is a shining
example of the growing trend that has seen
the private sector begin to incorporate
sustainability concerns into their operational
models."
About Pavan Sukhdev
Pavan Sukhdev is Founder-CEO
of GIST Advisory, a specialist consulting
firm which helps governments and corporations
discover, measure, value, and manage their
impacts on natural and human capital. He
is a Visiting Fellow at Yale University,
where he was awarded the 2011 McCluskey
Fellowship and wrote his book "Corporation
2020". Earlier, he was Special Adviser
and Head of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative,
and lead author of the UNEP report "Towards
a Green Economy".
He was also Study Leader
for the G8+5-commissioned project on The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB). Mr. Sukhdev was appointed to lead
TEEB by the EU Commission and Germany, and
delivered its Interim Report whilst still
working full time at Deutsche Bank in 2008.
A career banker, Mr. Sukhdev then took a
sabbatical from the Bank to lead TEEB &
the Green Economy Initiative for UNEP.
While at Deutsche Bank,
he in 2006 founded and then chaired Global
Markets Centre - Mumbai, a leading-edge
front-office offshoring company. He was
a speaker at the World Economic Forum meetings
at Davos in 2010 and 2011. He serves on
the boards of Conservation International
and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Mr. Sukhdev began his
financial markets career working with ANZ
Bank (1983 -1994) in India and in London,
in various trading, sales, structuring and
management roles. He joined Deutsche Bank
in 1994 to head their Global Markets division
in India, and subsequently carried out a
number of roles, including Chief Operating
Officer for the Bank's Asian Global Markets
business based in Singapore, and Chief Operating
Officer for the Bank's Global Emerging Markets
division.
About TEEB
TEEB is a major international
initiative to draw attention to the global
economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight
the growing costs of biodiversity loss and
ecosystem degradation, and to draw together
expertise from the fields of science, economics
and policy to enable practical actions moving
forward.
About UNEP Goodwill
Ambassadors
UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors
help generate public awareness and understanding
of environmental causes, as well as inspire
broad, positive, committed action in support
of UNEP's mandate and priorities. Aside
from Mr. Sukhdev, Gisele Bündchen,
Don Cheadle, Yann Arthus Bertrand and Chinese
actress Li Binging currently serve as ambassadors.
About UNEP and the Green
Economy Report
The UNEP-led Green Economy
Initiative, launched in late 2008, consists
of several components whose collective overall
objective is to provide the analysis and
policy support for investing in green sectors
and in greening environmental unfriendly
sectors.
At the Rio+20 Summit,
Heads of State and more than 190 nations
gave the green light to a Green Economy
in the context of sustainable development
and poverty eradication.
Nations agreed that
such a transition could be 'an important
tool' when supported by policies that encourage
decent employment, social welfare and inclusion
and the maintenance of the Earth's ecosystems
from forests to freshwaters.
The decision supports
nations wishing to forge ahead with a green
economy transition while providing developing
economies with the opportunity for access
to international support in terms of finance
and capacity building.
Within UNEP, the Green
Economy Initiative includes three sets of
activities:
Producing a Green Economy
Report and related research materials, which
will analyse the macroeconomic, sustainability,
and poverty reduction implications of green
investment in a range of sectors from renewable
energy to sustainable agriculture and providing
guidance on policies that can catalyze increased
investment in these sectors.
Providing advisory services
on ways to move towards a green economy
in specific countries.
Engaging a wide range
of research, non-governmental organizations,
business and UN partners in implementing
the Green Economy Initiative.
Beyond UNEP, the Green
Economy Initiative is one of the nine UN-wide
Joint Crisis Initiatives (JCI) launched
by the UN System's Chief Executives Board
in early 2009. In this context, the Initiative
includes a wide range of research activities
and capacity building events from more than
20 UN agencies including the Bretton Woods
Institutions, as well as an Issue Management
Group (IMG) on Green Economy, launched in
Washington, DC, in March 2010.
