UN Environment Assembly calls for investment in R&D

Ramon Paje, vice president of the United Nations Environment Assembly, is calling for more investment in research and development on alternatives to food production, as the agriculture sector is the second biggest contributor to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) had been banned in northern countries, but old inventories of pesticides and toxic chemicals containing POPs continued to be disposed in many countries of the global south, Paje said.