Key Principles for the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Panel on Chemicals and Waste

In 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognized chemical pollution as a planetary crisis tantamount to climate change and biodiversity decline. (1) In an important next step, the international community agreed in March 2022 on establishing an independent, intergovernmental science–policy panel on chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention (hereafter termed “the Panel”). (2) This Panel will take its place among two other intergovernmental bodies, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (3) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). (4) Now is a crucial time for establishing the Panel, following a process facilitated by UNEP to negotiate the Panel’s scope, functions, and institutional design, with the ambition to formally establish the Panel in 2024. As a group of international scientists working on chemical pollution, we applaud this milestone of progress to initiate the establishment of a panel for chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention. At the beginning of the negotiating process, we would like to highlight the following 10 critical aspects for consideration in determining the settings of the Panel.