A first ever evaluation of its kind has revealed how the world is making progress in removing long-lasting pollutants from our lives, largely thanks to actions taking place under conventions hosted by UN Environment.

The Stockholm Convention’s Global Monitoring Plan for Effectiveness Evaluation analysed mothers’ milk, blood and air. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are generally declining in all of these, found the report, which was issued in January.

UN Environment hosts the Secretariat for the Convention, where countries have agreed on 26 POPs to be phased out of production and use. Since its entry into force in 2004, the Convention helps ensure that successful local measures are applied worldwide.

At Cape Hedo on the island of Okinawa in Japan, concentrations of the harmful DDT pesticide measured in the air have clearly declined from 2009 to 2013. This could be a direct result of the Stockholm Convention.

PCBs are harmful and banned chemicals that have been used in adhesives and paints. In Western Europe, those found in human milk in Belgium declined from over 450 nanograms per gram of fat in 1990 to less than 150 nanograms in 2015.

On the other hand, PCB 52 has steadily increased in air concentrations at the Arctic station of Stórhöfði in Iceland. However, “this rise can be attributed to climate change,” noted UN Environment expert Ana-Maria Witt - with melting ice and permafrost now releasing pollutants that had previously been trapped.

Overall, POP concentrations measured in air and in human populations have declined and continue to decline or remain at low levels. This is particularly true for the initial 12 listed in the Convention. For chemicals that are newly listed, concentrations are beginning to decline, although in a few cases some are increasing or remained at stable levels.

The Stockholm Convention’s Conference of Parties meeting kicking off in April is likely to announce that the economic conditions are shaping up to justify banning or restricting the use of more chemicals.

“The work to ban or have limits placed on chemicals is difficult – we need safe alternatives that are accessible to all regions of the world,” Ms Witt explained, outlining the full nature of the challenge tackled by UN Environment under the Convention.

To view an executive summary of the report please click here. Infographics showing results for individual chemicals are also available here. For further information contact ana.witt@brsmeas.org

How many cars have you had in your lifetime? Did you have one with a loud engine, guzzling petrol and puffing out great clouds of smoke? As we all move towards safer, cleaner and greener cars across Europe do we ever stop to consider where our old ones went?

UN Environment joined the UN Economic Commission for Europe and other organisations and country representatives in Geneva on 20 February to discuss the problems with exporting heavily polluting and unsafe vehicles around the world.

The conference was titled ‘Ensuring Better Air Quality and Reduced Climate Emissions through Cleaner Used Vehicles’ and addressed both the health and environmental problems associated with the global flow of outdated vehicles with obsolete technology and exhaust systems.

According to Elisa Dumitrescu - a UN Environment transport expert – there are a number of countries that are steering in the wrong direction. “In some countries vehicle age and emissions are actually rising rather than diminishing, even as car technology improves by leaps and bounds in others,” she revealed.

Yet international cooperation has already led to major success on cleaner fuels worldwide. Following a 2002 meeting, by 2006 all 49 sub-Saharan countries had switched to unleaded fuel and many developing and transitional economies now have plans in place to transition to low-sulphur diesel. Cleaner fuels matter because they allow for the use of emission controls on cars, and this is key to lowering pollution from the sector.

In order to have cleaner used vehicles, “we need to have a solution that includes both importers and exporters, but is also informal and flexible enough to allow for quick action on a global scale” Ms. Dumitrescu believes.

Sri Lanka has got on track towards a cleaner environment through the use of age limits on imports (not accepting any more than three years old), coupled with substantial tax breaks on hybrids and electric vehicles. Sugath Yalegama, Director of Planning at the Sri Lankan Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, explained how introducing younger, smaller models onto the market has made a positive impact on the country. His research showed a large increase in the amount of electric and hybrid cars across Sri Lanka since the measures were put in place.

Transport currently accounts for one quarter of all CO2 emissions and is their fastest growing source. UN Environment currently leads the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles and is a founding partner of the Global Fuel Economy Initiative, which supports countries to introduce cleaner, more efficient vehicle standards – including measures to import cleaner ones.

Consumers and importing countries need more information before purchasing or receiving a used car, noted Jan Dusik –UN Environment’s Europe Director – when concluding the event.

“We must work together towards a global solution,” Mr Dusik stressed, while noting how there is “no one-size-fits-all solution” regarding used car standards. UN Environment will now work with partners and through global fora on both import and export measures to address the issue in a holistic manner, he added.

For more information please click here or get in touch with rob.jong@unep.org

“We are aware of the advantages of the current times we live in. We can buy toys from numerous retailers for example, yet we do not usually consider their chemical composition and possible harmful effects. This campaign reminded me to think twice before I buy a new toy for my child, and to choose smartly”, said one mother during the “Fight to know!” campaign run in Serbia.

The ‘Capacity Building and Strategic Partnerships for Chemicals Safety in the Republic of Serbia’ project falls under the Quick Start Programme managed by UN Environment. It was executed by the United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry for Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia between April 2015 and October 2016.

The project has improved the ability of authorities to better manage chemicals, apply legislation and work with civil society, while also raising public awareness. The campaign sought to support consumers’ rights to be informed of the presence of substances of very high concern in articles. A survey was first carried out among retailers, followed by a laboratory analysis of articles purchased.

As a result of these tests, further controls were carried out and articles containing prohibited amounts of phthalates (>0.1%) were removed from the market, given their potential health risks. Their production and distribution was also banned.

Some consumers sent articles back to distributors, who noted how the campaign had also raised awareness among staff, who now encourage shoppers to request information regarding substances of very high concern in order to make safe choices.

Following the campaign, one store-owner – who had sold an article containing a prohibited concentration of phthalates - informed consumers through his web page about the hazards posed by the article and the possibility to return it.

Serbian Helpdesk furthermore received a surge in enquiries from both consumers and traders, with one of the latter asking about the possible presence of substances of very high concern in curlers for notebooks and the rights consumers have to be informed for example.

“This campaign helped expand not only mine, but also my family’s knowledge on safer alternatives, chemical health effects, and pictograms. When purchasing a range of resources for my household, I will pay attention to all information provided to me from the instruction manual, including pictograms,” said Jovanka Nikolic of one of the three consumer associations in Serbia involved in the project.

For more information get in touch with aitziber.echeverria@unep.org

A new study of public and private expenditure on environment - with a particular focus on biodiversity and climate change adaptation - is to be carried out for Kyrgyzstan.

The work will be carried out with the Poverty and Environment Initiative and the UN Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative. It will support earlier assessments carried out by the Ministry of Finance focusing solely on direct environmental and biodiversity expenditure.

The study’s results “should serve as a tool to quantify the environment and biodiversity financing deficit at national level and assist in the development of integrated strategies for resource mobilization,” the country’s State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Zuura Bayamanova announced at a stakeholder workshop held on 14-16 February.

During the event, the review methodology was discussed between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economics and other public institution stakeholders, the German development agency GIZ, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, educational institutions, civil society and the UN Development Programme. In the consultations, ways to identify environmental costs, important stakeholders for the study and an integrated communication and engagement strategy were considered.

An environmental communication training programme for press secretaries was also held as part of the event. There, Rosalind Goodrich – Head of Research Communications at the International Institute for Environment and Development - highlighted the need for effective communication about the environment.

"Attention is currently focused on the country’s development and well-being of people's lives, but at the same time, we must pay attention to protecting the environment for future generations so that the well-being of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren is also considered,” she argued.

Following these first steps taken by Kyrgyzstan, we can expect that they will soon be charging ahead to a future with clear evidence of the benefits of green finance.

For more information please contact nara.luvsan@unep.org