FINANCING THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS

This executive summary proposes a coordinated global fee on basic chemicals to fund the sound management of chemicals and waste, arguing that the chemical industry currently externalizes significant health and environmental costs to the public.

• The chemical industry generates massive annual sales but does not pay for the associated health and environmental costs, which are instead borne by the public. In 2018, the WHO estimated that preventable chemical mismanagement caused 1.6 million premature deaths annually and 45 million lost Disability-adjusted Life Years (DALYs).
• The chemical industry is the world's second largest manufacturing industry, largest industrial energy consumer, and third largest carbon dioxide emitter. Sales, including plastics and pharmaceuticals, were US$5.7 trillion in 2017 and are projected to exceed US$11 trillion by 2030.
• The document proposes a coordinated 0.5% fee or tax on the production value of basic (feedstock) chemicals. Based on 2018 basic chemical sales of US$2.3 trillion, this would generate US$11.5 billion annually, which is approximately 85 times the combined annual assistance from the Special Programme and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• Current international chemical management mechanisms are underfunded and rely on public donor contributions. The GEF provides the financial mechanism for the Minamata and Stockholm Conventions, while the Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, and SAICM lack dedicated financial mechanisms and rely on ad-hoc 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} }