Chairs: Penny Vlahos, Lena Vierke, Miriam Diamond, and Marlene Ågerstrand The United Nations has identified chemical pollution as one of the three drivers threatening humanity’s future, the other two being the loss of biodiversity and climate change. For some years, concerns about chemical pollution have resulted in actions addressing specific substances or groups of substances. On the global level, these are, for example, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. However, a comprehensive global initiative promoting science-based decision-making for chemicals and waste has, until recently, been missing. In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly agreed on developing a new global Science-Policy Panel for the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution. Among other things, this panel will undertake assessments and horizon scanning to identify issues of relevance for decision-makers worldwide and, if possible, propose opportunities to address these issues. Science has a critical role to play in the Science-Policy Panel as science-based assessments are important to inform the decision-making processes. Scientific research can identify patterns and trends in environmental changes and public health outcomes, which can be instrumental in identifying the need for action and predicting the potential consequences of different decisions. It allows decision-makers to evaluate potential risks associated with certain actions, and for evaluating the outcomes of existing policies and measures. Moreover, scientific discoveries can drive innovation towards a more sustainable and prosperous future. For all that, the availability and dissemination of scientific results are important. This platform session aims to present the latest research identifying and assessing challenges and problems of relevance for the work of the new Science-Policy Panel. Presentations will also include advances in methods for how to effectively perform policy-relevant advice regarding chemical management and potential solutions. As the assessments and work undertaken by the Science-Policy Panel will be interdisciplinary, we welcome contributions from different disciplines (including human and ecological health; the physical, material and social sciences; policy-making and risk assessment). We also encourage presentations from participants from diverse geographies.
Link to abstract submission: https://www.setac.org/discover-events/global-meetings/setac-europe-34th-annual-meeting/programme/abstract-submission.html