FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS

The chemical industry, with 2017 sales of US$5.7 trillion projected to reach US$11 trillion by 2030, does not pay for the health and environmental costs of its products. The document argues that the public currently bears these costs, including a global disease burden of 1.6 million annual premature deaths from chemical mismanagement. To address this, the authors propose a coordinated 0.5% fee on basic chemicals (feedstocks), which could raise US$11.5 billion annually. This funding would support the development and enforcement of laws and infrastructure for chemicals management, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and would implement the 'polluter pays principle'.

• The chemical industry generates massive annual revenues but externalizes the associated health and environmental costs, which are instead borne by the public and marginalized populations.
• A proposed coordinated fee of 0.5% on the production value of basic chemicals could generate US$11.5 billion annually, significantly exceeding current funding from the GEF and the Special Programme.
• Current international chemical management frameworks, including the Stockholm, Rotterdam, Basel, and Minamata Conventions, are underfunded and rely on public donor contributions rather than industry funding.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2020). FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ipen-ciel-producer-responsibility-exec-vf1_3e-en.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS. 2020. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ipen-ciel-producer-responsibility-exec-vf1_3e-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS |date=September 2020 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ipen-ciel-producer-responsibility-exec-vf1_3e-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2020financing, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ipen-ciel-producer-responsibility-exec-vf1_3e-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }