Pollution caused by states and companies causes more deaths worldwide than Covid-19, according to a UN environmental report released this Tuesday (15). The document calls for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban certain toxic chemicals.
Contamination by pesticides, plastics and e-waste violates human rights and causes at least 9 million premature deaths a year, the report says, underlining that the problem remains largely neglected.
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed an estimated 5.9 million deaths, according to data aggregator Worldometer.
“Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and toxic substances are clearly failing, resulting in widespread violations of laws for a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” says report author David Boyd.
The document is due to be presented in March to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a body that recognizes access to a safe and healthy environment as a fundamental right.
The document calls for a ban on polyfluoroalkyls or perfluoroalkyls, artificial substances used in household products such as nonstick cookware. They are associated with an increased risk of cancer and are considered “eternal chemicals” because they do not break down easily.
sacrifice zones
The report also recommends cleaning up contaminated environments and, in extreme cases, the possible displacement of affected communities – “many of whom are poor, marginalized and indigenous” – out of the “sacrificial zones”, the text details.
This term, initially used to describe nuclear testing areas, was expanded in the UN report to include any site that is highly contaminated or has become uninhabitable due to climate change.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called environmental threats the world’s greatest challenge in terms of rights. According to her, an increasing number of lawsuits related to the environment have also successfully invoked human rights.
