To ensure the success of the UN’s intergovernmental science-policy panel on chemicals, waste and pollution prevention (SPP), a new article in Environmental Science & Technology underlines the need for rules that defend against conflicts of interest.
In short:
- Thirty-four scientists collaborated to highlight how industry and other outside influences impact chemical and pollution policies.
- The article outlines how industry leverages tactics like manufactured doubt to spread bias and slow regulatory progress.
- The authors offer a set of recommended procedures designed to protect policy efforts from outside interests.
Key quote:
Thomas Backhaus, one of the authors, tweeted about the paper: “Open and hidden conflicts of interest are a huge problem when assessing chemicals, waste, and pollution.”
Why this matters:
Creating policy often involves prolonged negotiations between players from every side of the debate (see this week’s conference on the UN plastics treaty in Nairobi as an example). The authors of this article emphasize the need to recognize the ways in which industry can impact regulatory efforts, and propose solutions to ensure policy is grounded in scientific data.
Related EHN coverage:
- “Plastic will overwhelm us:” Scientists say health should be the core of global plastic treaty
- The chemical industry may have killed a landmark EU chemical policy. Here’s what that means for the US.
Schäffer, Andreas et al. for Environmental Science & Technology Nov 9, 2023.
