A joint statement of the ITUC, ITUC-Africa, IUF and ITF stresses the links between environmental protection, decent work and poverty eradication as well as the potential of green technology to contribute to gender equality and human rights.

“Millions of people depend on oceans and seas for their livelihoods, and the food they produce is increasingly contaminated by microplastics, threatening food security, jobs and the marine environment. We are also demanding national laws, within a global framework, to prohibit and remove hazardous substances and protect workers and consumers. Governments need to accept to their regulatory responsibilities, and stand up to chemical corporations which delay and frustrate the replacement of toxic chemicals that cause cancer and other disorders with alternatives that don’t cause death and disease at work and in the community,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

This week’s preparatory sessions of the UN Environment Assembly, the world’s highest-level environmental decision-making body, will be followed a high-level segment of the meeting from 11 – 15 March.