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Pollution | 18 March 2020

Chemicals in the EU - EU Environmental Policies & Law
Pollution
Chemicals
EU

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Chemicals in the EU - EU Environmental Policies & Law

In the context of the academic POLLEN programme, on the 18 March 2020, Alice Bernard, Lawyer (juriste) in ClientEarth’s Chemicals team, gave an overview of the challenges and keys issues raised by chemical pollution in the EU. While EU chemical law is most likely the most advanced and comprehensive legal framework in the world, and should thus be preserved, gaps in protection still need to be addressed, and implementation and enforcement need to be drastically improved and accelerated. The European Environment Agency report on the European environment – state and outlook 2020 is clear: EU countries are not on track at all to reach their environmental objectives and in particular the objective to minimise the exposure of people and the planet to hazardous chemicals. The presentation provides an analysis of three key factors thought to contribute to this failure: (i) the common myth of European excessive and unscientific regulations, (ii) the lack of transparency on chemicals’ exposure and EU decision making process and (iii) an imbalanced access to justice. More details in the presentation.