Presentations in Plenary 2023

Plenary Session 1: Setting the Stage

• Dr Leonardo Trasande, Jim G. Hendrick MD Professor, Director of the Division of Environmental Pediatrics, and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, USA. Video presentation: Climate, Plastics and Biodiversity Loss: the Other Tripledemic.
• Mr Baskut Tuncak, JD, Director of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA. Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous waste. Video presentation: Bridging the Toxic Divide.
• Dr Sharon McGuinness, Executive Director, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Finland. Video presentation: How ECHA is working to protect health and address chemical pollution.

Plenary Session 2: Towards a European Green deal 2.0

• Ms Anne-Sofie Bäckar, Executive Director, Chemsec, Sweden. Video presentation: Chemical strategy – future.
• Dr Pete Myers, Chief Scientist of non-profit Environmental Health Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Video presentation
• Mr Per Ängquist, Director General, Swedish Chemicals Agency. Video presentation: Cornerstones for an efficient chemical legislation- Enforceability and clarity.

Plenary Session 3: Navigating the Triple Crises: Biodiversity, Chemicals and Climate 

• Dr Sinaia Netanyahu, Program Manager, European Center for Environment and Health, WHO Regional Office for Europe. Video presentation: Environment and Health in the WHO European Region
• Dr Maria Cristina Zucca, Head, Pollution and Health Unit, Chemicals and Health Branch, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), Kenya. Video presentation: Pollution and One Health: strengthening the nexus.
• Ms Jytte Guteland, Member of the Swedish Riksdag and the European Parliament. Video presentation​

Plenary Session 4: Looking forward

• Mr Desmond Alugnoa, Africa Climate and Zero Waste program manager for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative and co-founder of the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO). Video presentation: Fostering universal health equity through a toxic free world, a look at the work of youth and informal communities in Africa.

Closing Plenary Discussion

Watch the closing discussion on actionable insights into policy approaches and communication strategies for driving change. Participating speakers:

Dr. Laura N. Vandenberg, Professor and Research Scientist, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Dr. Isaac Olufadewa, Founder and Executive Director, Slum and Rural Health Initiative, Nigeria
Luis Vayas, Ambassador, Ecuador, Vice President of the INC Bureau of the global legally binding instrument on plastic pollution
John Tumpane, Head of the Department of Environment at Formas
Dr. Kateřina Šebková, Director, RECETOX, Faculty of Sciene, Masaryk University