The Stockholm Convention

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty that was signed in 2001 and became effective from 2004. It was ratified by 186 countries and aims at addressing the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

The Convention seeks:

  • to eliminate or restrict the production and release of specific POPs,
  • to promote international cooperation and measures to reduce their impact on a global scale.

 

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Silicones Europe is of the firm opinion that there is currently not enough evidence to claim that D4, D5, D6 meet the LRET criterion.


To solve the remaining scientific uncertainties around the LRET, Silicones Europe and the Global Silicones Council, both representing the silicone industry on the European and global levels, are working with an independent scientific panel – with the support of several EU Member State and third country authorities – to conduct a comprehensive field study in the Antarctic to gather robust scientific evidence. See our news section for updates on the progress of the study.


 


Given that the Stockholm Convention ultimately aims to eliminate substances globally, the availability of silicone polymers is at stake. With Europe’s high dependency on these substances, this threatens EU strategic autonomy and jeopardises many critical applications for the EU Green Deal, like batteries in electric cars, green hydrogen, semiconductors, to name a few.