Klimat- och miljöminister Romina Pourmokhtaris tal vid nordisk konferens om PFAS-substitution
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Invigningstal av klimat- och miljöminister Romina Pourmokhtari vid den nordiska konferensen om PFAS-substitution i Stockholm den 2 september 2024. Det talade ordet gäller.
Dear Nordic friends,
I’m very happy to have been asked to open today’s conference, arranged by KemI – The Swedish Chemicals Agency. This conference is also a priority of the Swedish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
We have highlighted in the Work Programme for our Presidency that the Nordic countries must continue to be a strong and clear voice to promote effective solutions in international environmental and climate negotiations.
We have also underlined that the Nordic countries for many years have successfully collaborated to minimize the risks to people and the environment caused by chemicals.
There was comprehensive Nordic co-operation behind establishing the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants, as well as the Minamata Convention on mercury. Now, yet again, the Nordics are sticking together, and there is a considerable cooperative Nordic effort underway to promote an agreement in Korea, in November to start negotiations on a new legally binding international instrument for combatting plastic pollution.
Today’s conference on substitution of PFAS shows yet another example of Nordic leadership.
When it comes to controlling the large risks from hazardous substances today, at the European as well as at the global level, one of the most important challenges is a universal substitution of all PFAS.
Although there is rather lively public debate on the issue of PFAS, I believe this issue, unfortunately, will only grow in the minds of most ordinary people who are gradually realizing what a mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. The heart-breaking fact is that a lot of lives will be affected by PFAS contamination. Sadly, a lot of people have high levels of PFAS in their bodies, and it is only a question of time before some of them will start experiencing health issues.
We’ve only seen the beginning of the harms caused by PFAS, and we’ve only just begun addressing the issue. There is more to come, that’s for sure.
The costs of inaction would be tremendous. In a socio-economic study commissioned by the Nordic Council and published in 2019, they were estimated to be between 52 and 84 billion Euros per year.
Furthermore, the fact that PFAS are extremely persistent and therefore tend to exist “forever”, make them inherently unsuitable in a circular economy. That is why the European Union, in its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, has committed to a universal phase-out of PFAS. That is also why the Nordic society, once more, has taken a leading role in the phase-out of a group of hazardous substances.
The co-operation between Danish, Norwegian and Swedish competent authorities to submit the dossier for a universal PFAS restriction under REACH, and the authorities’ on-going handling of the multitude of comments, is a brilliant example of this leading role. It is an achievement that I am very proud of as a Swedish and Nordic minister.
Our common achievements will benefit not only the peoples of our Nordic countries, but all of Europe.There has been some criticism of the restriction process being slow and lacking transparency. I believe this criticism is unfair and misleading. It is primarily for the European Commission to provide the conditions for further regulation, and for businesses to work on solutions. The Nordic authorities are clearly doing their utmost to fulfil their part of the process.
The Swedish government, fully supports the phase-out commitment of the Chemicals Strategy. We believe that restrictions at EU level is the most effective tool for phase-out in Europe and that they also will pave the way for phase-out at global level. We will do our utmost to make sure that the incoming European Commission fulfil this commitment.
The efforts are already yielding results. Step by step, different groups of PFAS have been restricted.
In 2023, for example, a restriction came into effect for the PFCA group, which consists of approximately 200 substances and is used in textiles and fire-fighting foam, among other things. In April 2024, the member states also voted through a ban on the group PFHxA, which is used, among other things, in materials in contact with food and in clothing. A proposal for a ban on all use of PFAS in firefighting foam is scheduled for discussion at the December meeting of the REACH committee.
This conference will be at the core of the continuing road towards a universal phase-out. Authorities and business now need to share their knowledge and their experiences of detection, identification, and phase-out of PFAS, as you will be doing today. It is indeed encouraging to note that you will hear about the positive experiences from a wide range of sectors, ranging from textiles to consumer electronics.
To the best of my knowledge, there are very few examples from the past, if any, where society has not been able to come up with alternative substances or techniques for substituting harmful substances in focus. On the contrary, feasible alternatives to hazardous substances have always been developed when strong legislative pressure has been combined with innovation efforts. I am therefore totally convinced that we will find solutions for the phase-out also of PFAS.
The sharing of substitution experiences is also very much in line with the ambitions of our Nordic Presidency as regards competitiveness. The Nordic region should in our view continue to be a pioneer in a competitive and innovation-driven transition, both at home and by promoting Nordic green solutions in the rest of the world. Cooperation and exchange of experience, including methods and tools, within the Nordic business community, like it will be done within this conference, can strengthen our common competitiveness.
Part of the programme of this conference is also about compliance testing and control, which is another key aspect in the phase-out of PFAS. There should, in my view, in principle be zero tolerance for non-compliance. This is a prerequisite for a level playing field. Companies that do not fulfil their responsibilities should face consequences. It will therefore be important that users and authorities share their experiences, like you will do today, with the aim of paving the way for rules that are possible to comply with as well as rules that are enforceable.
I wish you a fruitful conference and good luck to all of us, working for a world free from PFAS! Thank you!
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