Pollution causing more deaths than Covid-19, says UN report, ‘immediate, ambitious’ action needed to tackle human rights issue
- The environmental report by UN Special Rapporteur David Boyd talks of at least 9 million premature deaths a year from pollution
- It recommends banning some ‘forever’ substances, the clean-up of polluted sites and the possible relocation of affected communities
Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than Covid-19, according to a UN environmental report published on Tuesday, calling for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban some toxic chemicals.
The report said pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is causing widespread human rights violations as well as at least 9 million premature deaths a year, and that the issue is largely being overlooked.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused close to 5.9 million deaths, according to data aggregator Worldometer.
Due to be presented next month to the UN Human Rights Council, which has declared a clean environment a human right, the document was posted on the Council’s website on Tuesday.
It urges a ban on polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, man-made substances used in household products such as non-stick cookware that have been linked to cancer and dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily.
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It also recommends the clean-up of polluted sites and, in extreme cases, the possible relocations of affected communities, many of them poor, marginalised and indigenous, from so-called “sacrifice zones”.