Secretariat
Tessa Goverse, Ph.D
Principal Coordinator and Head of the Interim Secretariat
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution
History
At its resumed fifth session in March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted resolution 5/8, calling for the establishment of a science-policy panel to support the sound management of chemicals and waste and the prevention of pollution. The resolution requested the Executive Director of UNEP to convene an ad hoc open-ended working group (OEWG) to develop proposals on the panel’s scope, functions, institutional arrangements, governance, and financing.
The OEWG carried out its mandate between 2022 and 2025, through a series of meetings that brought together governments, scientists, and stakeholders from across the globe to design the new panel.
In June 2025, the Panel was formally established at an Intergovernmental Meeting convened by the Executive Director of UNEP in accordance with UNEA resolution 5/8. Created to address a long-standing gap in the global environmental governance landscape, the Panel will deliver independent, policy-relevant scientific advice to inform action on chemicals, waste, and pollution.
Contacts
For more information, please contact the ISP-CWP interim secretariat at isp-cwp@un.org.
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