Chemicals Governance Made Simple

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law outlines the challenges of global chemicals governance and proposes a ten-pillar framework for states to manage the lifecycle of industrial chemicals, from market entry to end-of-life disposal.

• Global chemical production is increasing rapidly, nearly doubling between 2000 and 2017, with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) estimating that sales will double again by 2030, primarily driven by emerging economies.
• Chemicals governance faces four primary challenges: the delayed onset of health harms, the ability of chemicals to travel through air and water leading to bioaccumulation, the ubiquity of exposure from birth, and information asymmetry where manufacturers hold data not shared with consumers or retailers.
• Effective chemicals governance requires an administrative infrastructure, such as a standalone institution or a control authority within a larger government entity, supported by ten basic principles divided into three lifecycle stages: before market entry (determinations, information access, bans, and restrictions), during sale (labeling, treaty obligations, exposure monitoring, and safety enforcement), and after use (waste management and cleaning legacy pollution).

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2021). Chemicals Governance Made Simple. https://www.ciel.org/chemicals-governance-made-simple/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Chemicals Governance Made Simple. 2021. https://www.ciel.org/chemicals-governance-made-simple/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Chemicals Governance Made Simple |date=30 November 2021 |url=https://www.ciel.org/chemicals-governance-made-simple/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2021chemicals, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Chemicals Governance Made Simple}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/chemicals-governance-made-simple/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }