Global pollution leads to more deaths than COVID-19 worldwide, according to an environmental report released by the United Nations on Tuesday.
The report called for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban the toxic chemicals leading to global deaths.
The report claimed that the pollution from pesticides, electronic waste, and plastics is leading to widespread human rights violations and at least 9 million premature deaths annually.
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The problem is largely being overlooked when compared to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report, COVID-19 is the cause of roughly 5.9 million deaths, according to Worldometer.
“Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and toxic substances are clearly failing, resulting in widespread violations of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” U.N. Special Rapporteur David Boyd, the report’s author, said.
This information is slated to be presented in March to the U.N. Human Rights Council, and it declares a clean environment a human right.
The report also promotes a ban of polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, substances used to manufacture household items such as cookware, which have been correlated with cancer. They have been labeled “forever chemicals” given how hard they are to break down.
Sites known as “sacrifice zones” — where marginalized, poor, and indigenous groups endure heavy pollution — must also be cleaned, according to the U.N. study.
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The environmental threats facing the world represent the most significant global rights challenge, Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. rights chief, said.
