This report presents a comprehensive technical review of the literature on climate change and hazardous chemicals management, towards identifying a set of opportunities for simultaneously addressing these two critical elements of the broader sustainability challenge, and maps the interlinkages between hazardous chemicals, wastes, and climate change, which combine to impact on efforts to conserve and restore nature.
The report identifies interlinkages between the two issues, including:
- Climate change can lead to increased releases of hazardous chemicals;
- Chemical production and product usage can lead to increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
- The waste sector is a potential source of GHG and hazardous chemical releases;
- Both synergies and sometimes trade-offs can exist between mitigation measures for releases of GHGs and hazardous chemicals;
- Opportunities exist for aligning GHG and hazardous chemicals inventories.
This report also highlights these interlinkages between climate, chemicals, and waste for specific regions and for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The major impacts identified in SIDS are the risks of coastal flooding, heat stress, and changes in precipitation patterns, which have the potential to contribute to increased releases from waste disposal sites and other disrupted infrastructure as well as increased fertilizer and pesticide use.