Chemicals: Pollution Control
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department is advocating for strengthened international regulation of persistent pollutants, including PFAS chemicals and microplastics, on the international stage.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Defra is committed to our obligations under international environmental agreements and, as a global scientific leader on chemicals management, will use science diplomacy and expertise to influence global environment policy.
The UK is actively working with international partners and through multilateral fora to strengthen global action, including through the Stockholm Convention, the Global Framework on Chemicals, and the OECD. We support efforts to improve global monitoring and data, promote safer alternatives, and strengthen the scientific basis for decision-making, including through the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution.
We recognise PFAS and other persistent pollutants as a global and transboundary issue. The UK’s first-ever PFAS Plan sets out how we will work to understand the sources of these chemicals; tackle how they move around in the environment; and act to reduce public and environmental exposure.
The plan reflects Defra’s commitment to protect public health and the environment while supporting innovation and economic growth. It is a long-term framework for engagement on this important issue.
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