The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched a landmark project that seeks to eliminate hazardous chemicals and promote green manufacturing.
The DENR through its Environmental Management Bureau with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) initiated the “Reduction of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Unintentional POPs (UPOPs) through Integrated Sound Management of Chemicals” project last week.
The project marks a critical milestone in the country’s continued implementation of its commitments under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which the Philippines ratified in 2004.
POPs are some of the most hazardous chemicals ever produced, known for their persistence in the environment, ability to bioaccumulate and serious threats to human health and ecosystems.
Despite global efforts to phase them out, many of these toxic substances continue to be present in industrial processes, waste streams and everyday consumer products.
The inception workshop convened key stakeholders from national government agencies, industry, civil society, development finance institutions and the international development community.
The activity serves as the formal start of the project implementation, and as a platform to introduce the project’s objectives, strategy and planned outcomes.
The POPs and UPOPs Project seeks to eliminate 192.5 tons of industrial POPs from critical value chains, particularly in manufacturing industries that are still using hazardous substances.
These include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Pentafluoro octane sulphonates and their derivatives (PFOS) and Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD).
The project aims to promote the adoption of Green Chemistry principles in Philippine industries and support the establishment of an innovative financing mechanism known as FREE-ME—short for Financing the Roadmap for the Environmental Enhancement of Manufacturing Enterprises. The mechanism is designed to help enterprises, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), gain access to green financing to adopt safer alternatives and cleaner technologies.
DENR Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna said “the project supports the Philippines’ implementation of the Stockholm Convention … to reduce and eliminate hazardous substances known for their toxicity, persistence, and transboundary impacts.
Another major component of the project is to support the government in designing and piloting the country’s first Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR), which will strengthen national capacity to track chemical use and toxic emissions in key industrial facilities.
UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran stressed the urgency of transitioning to a toxic-free, low-carbon and circular economy.
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