La Estrategia de sostenibilidad para las sustancias químicas: ¿cómo puede la Unión Europea ser un ejemplo para el mundo?

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the European Commission's October 2020 "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability." It evaluates the strategy's potential to create a "toxic-free environment" and provides recommendations for the EU to lead global chemical management by strengthening international standards and eliminating the "double standard" of exporting hazardous substances banned within the EU.

• The EU's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability aims for a "toxic-free environment" as part of the European Green Deal's "zero pollution goal," though it currently exists as a communication with an indicative action plan rather than binding legislation.
• The strategy proposes several transformative internal policy shifts, including the adoption of a "generic risk management approach" by 2022 to prevent harmful chemicals in consumer products, the definition of "essential uses" for the most damaging chemicals by 2021-2022, and the development of "safe and sustainable by design" criteria in 2022.
• The EU intends to improve transparency and safety for plastics by requiring the registration of certain polymers under the REACH regulation, ensuring the industry bears the burden of proof regarding safety before market entry.
• The EU commits to leading global chemical management by fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically targets 12.4 (sustainable consumption and production), 3.9 (health and well-being), and 6.3 (clean water and sanitation), although the report notes that toxic chemical consumption in the EU increased between 2013 and 2018.
• To strengthen international standards, the EU is urged to support the Stockholm Convention by including new persistent organic pollutants (POPs) without exemptions and to address PFAS globally through the Basel and Stockholm Conventions in 2023-2024.
• The report highlights a "double standard" where the EU exports hazardous chemicals and waste—such as electronic waste to Africa under "repairable" loopholes—that are banned internally. The EU aims to ensure by 2023 that "hazardous chemicals banned in the European Union are not manufactured for export."
• The EU plans to promote the United Nations Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classification and labeling, with a target of 2022-2024 to introduce or clarify hazard classes for endocrine disruptors, persistence, and mobility in alignment with the CLP Regulation.
• The report suggests that the EU should promote a sustainable international fund for chemical management, potentially funded by a coordinated national tax on basic chemicals, to address the chronic underfunding of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). La Estrategia de sostenibilidad para las sustancias químicas: ¿cómo puede la Unión Europea ser un ejemplo para el mundo? https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/La-Estrategia-de-sostenibilidad-para-las-sustancias-químicas.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. La Estrategia de sostenibilidad para las sustancias químicas: ¿cómo puede la Unión Europea ser un ejemplo para el mundo? n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/La-Estrategia-de-sostenibilidad-para-las-sustancias-químicas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=La Estrategia de sostenibilidad para las sustancias químicas: ¿cómo puede la Unión Europea ser un ejemplo para el mundo? |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/La-Estrategia-de-sostenibilidad-para-las-sustancias-químicas.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndestrategia, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{La Estrategia de sostenibilidad para las sustancias químicas: ¿cómo puede la Unión Europea ser un ejemplo para el mundo?}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/La-Estrategia-de-sostenibilidad-para-las-sustancias-químicas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }