1. About Nordic working group for Chemicals, Environment and Health (NKE)

The Nordic Council of Ministers has six working groups in the environmental and climate sector, each of which addresses a different theme. The groups’ main task is to ensure that the Programme for Nordic Co-operation on the Environment and Climate 2019–2024 is implemented. This entails running projects and conferences, conducting analyses, producing reports, organising workshops, etc. and responding to requests from ministers.

In the Nordic programme for co-operation, the Nordic working group for chemicals, environment, and health (NKE) was mandated to help minimise the negative health and environmental effects of chemicals in products, emissions, and waste. The goals of the co-operation are:

Nordic co-operation has contributed to minimising the risks that chemicals and the chemical substances in products pose to human health and environment.
Nordic work has encouraged companies manufacturing and using chemicals to focus on substitution, so that substances of very high concern are phased out as far as possible.
Nordic work has contributed to increased knowledge on hazardous substances and the development of methods for assessing and managing the risks relating to groups of hazardous substances.
Nordic work has contributed to increasing the level of ambition of efforts relating to chemicals in the EU and globally.
Nordic co-operation has contributed to the dissemination of knowledge to consumers about hazardous substances.

NKE working group consists of Nordic chemical authorities including the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI), Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet), the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen), the Environmental Agency of Iceland (Umhverfisstofnun), the Environmental Agency of Faroe Islands (Umhvørvisstovan) and Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (TUKES). In addition to working group members, a full-time coordinator has worked for NKE in an appointed administrative body (Umhverfisstofnun 2019–2022

Umhverfisstofnun acted as administrative body and coordinator also for predecessor of NKE, the Nordic Chemicals Group NKG.

and TUKES 2023–2024).

For 2019–2024 the co-operation programme outlines two main priorities for NKE: studying the inherent properties and risks of chemicals and international co-operation. Studying composition and risks of chemicals includes following priorities:

improve knowledge about substances, their properties, and their risks;
use this knowledge to encourage companies to increase their efforts to substitute hazardous substances with less hazardous alternatives to a greater extent;
work to strengthen the EU chemicals regulations relating to grouping of hazardous substances;
limit and minimise the risks from the use of hazardous substances;
make available information about chemicals in materials, goods, and waste and ensure its use does not harm the environment or the human health; and
co-operate on the enforcement of chemicals in goods and products, in recycling, and in e-commerce.

International co-operation includes priorities such as:

work globally to support new goals and strategies relating to chemicals and waste in order to limit the global spread of substances of very high concern;
work to improve transfer of information on hazardous substances; and
pay special attention to the presence and impact of chemicals in the northern regions and the Arctic.

Chemical legislation covers many sectors and authorities. Chemicals management is also organised differently in the Nordic countries. Improving co-operation among authorities in the area of chemicals is essential for maintaining effective and harmonised chemical management. NKE covers a wide chemical sector and over the years NKE has built and expanded network of experts (i.e. sub-groups) from national agencies in the Nordic countries.

Nordic co-operation has often taken the form of exerting influence on EU regulations but has also covered other aspects of international work, e.g. global conventions and agreements, the Arctic environment, and OECD test method development on chemicals, which are tools for implementing EU regulations. This way, the group helps minimise the risk from exposure to chemicals in products and of damage to the environment and human health.

About Nordic Council of Ministers for Environment and Health

The Nordic Council of Ministers is the official body for inter-governmental co-operation in the Nordic Region. The Council of Ministers for the Environment and Climate (MR-MK) is responsible for the Nordic inter-governmental co-operation on environmental issues. Its remit includes preserving and enhancing the quality of the environment and of life in the region and exerting influence on regional and international co-operation.

About the Co-operation Programme for Environment and Health

Between 2019 and 2024, the Nordic countries work together to bring about sustainable development in the Nordic Region, the EU, and internationally. Together, the countries pursue the ambitious implementation of international agreements on the environment and climate – in particular the Paris Agreement – and work together to strengthen the EU’s regulatory framework regarding the environment and climate. The Nordic countries continue to be front-runners in terms of bringing about change. Nordic co-operation on the environment and climate seeks to halt the loss of biodiversity and bring about the sustainable use of natural resources.

In addition to the Co-operation Programme, the Nordic Council of Ministers for Environment and Health are committed to the Nordic Vision 2030. The Nordic Vision is to be the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030.

Sources:

Nordic Co-operation. Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment and Climate (MR-MK). Available at: https://www.norden.org/en/organisation/nordic-council-ministers-environment-and-climate-mr-mk

Nordic Council of Ministers (2020). Norden som världens mest hållbara och integrerade region – Handlingsplan 2021–2024. Nordic Council of Ministers, PN2020:707. Available at: Nordisk Ministerråd - PolitikNord2020-707 (norden.org).

Nordic Co-operation. Programmes and strategies for Nordic co-operation on the environment and climate. Available at: https://www.norden.org/en/information/programmes-and-strategies-nordic-co-operation-environment-and-climate.

Nordic Council of Ministers (2018). Programme for Nordic Co-operation on the Environment and Climate 2019–2024. Available at: https://www.norden.org/en/publication/programme-nordic-co-operation-environment-and-climate-2019-2024