Bolstering scientific knowledge on the impact of chemicals and waste pollution on ecosystems and human health is an urgent priority, especially for developing countries who require access to the best prevailing evidence to both raise awareness and guide and direct policy. With this in mind, the fifth meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), in 2022, recognized that improving the availability of scientific information and assessments can enable more effective and efficient action to minimize and prevent the negative impacts of chemicals and waste, and prevent pollution to improve human well-being. UNEA Resolution 5/8 called for establishing a new science-policy panel to contribute to the sound management of chemicals and waste and prevention of pollution.
Three years later, in June 2025, governments completed negotiations and agreed to establish the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP). Alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) the ISP-CWP completes a “trifecta” of international science-policy bodies to respond to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.