Item 18b. Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction

Franziska Hirsch Secretary to the Industrial Accidents Convention Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties Geneva, 7-9 December 2020 Global Assessment Report (GAR)-2019 Chapter 3.1.8 Chemical/industrial hazards •Coordinating lead authors for Chapter 3, Section 3.1.8 chemical/industrial hazards – UNECE secretariat and consultants, and EU Joint Research Centre •First GAR to address chemical/industrial hazards, in line with Sendai Framework’s broadened scope to include man- made/technological hazards and risks •Launched at UNDRR Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (Geneva, 13-17 May 2019) •Natural follow-up to initiation, contribution and launch at CoP-10 (Geneva, 4-6 December 2018) of Words into Action Guidelines / Implementation guide on man-made/technological hazards Chapter 3.1.8 >> Some key messages • Industrial accidents are a clear evidence of a failure to control risks • Likelihood of an accident occurring depends significantly on: – How well the risks are managed (safety management systems) – Decisions of the organization(s) that affect the functional effectiveness of the safety management system • Enhancing national and global assessment of industrial accident risk • Frequency and severity of past accidents provide no indication as to where the next accident could occur or how severe it could be • Continuous efforts are required to avoid accidents – by experts and authorities, on and off-site • Safety of facilities and effectiveness of risk management contingent on the quality and implementation of planning, analysis, design, construction, operational diligence, monitoring and regulatory actions • Multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach required • Land-use planning central to reducing industrial risk, and siting decisions to reducing exposure of the surrounding population Chapter 3.1.8 >> About the Convention

“The Industrial Accidents Convention is a multilateral legal instrument that supports countries in establishing and enhancing governance, policymaking and transboundary cooperation on industrial accident prevention, preparedness and response. Developed initially for the European region following the Sandoz accident in 1986, the approaches and experience offer insights to countries pursuing Sendai Framework commitments in technological risk management. The Convention’s legal provisions, policy forum, guidelines and capacity-development activities support countries in preventing accidents from occurring, reducing their frequency and severity and mitigating their effects at the local, national and cross-border levels. The scope of the Convention also applies to industrial accidents that are triggered by the impacts of natural hazards.” Continued UNECE-UNDRR cooperation • European Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (2-5 November 2021, Matosinhos, Portugal): Special session on technological hazards (UNECE, OECD)

• Contribution to Global Platform for DRR (May 2022, Indonesia)

• Inter-agency coordination group on industrial/chemical accidents (UNDRR to host in Geneva in 2022)

• Issue-based coalition on climate change and environment for Europe and Central Asia (Policy brief on DRR and climate change adaptation)

• Mainstreaming industrial/chemical risks into national DRR strategies and action plans

• Information-sharing on capacity-development in Central Asia