Ramboll hosts UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel in Copenhagen

The most important milestone

Janet F. Bornman, EEAP Co-Chair and Professor at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, says: “The UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel is delighted to be hosted by Ramboll in Copenhagen.”

She adds: “This meeting is the most important milestone in our annual assessments, since apart from those updates, the Panel prepares a comprehensive report every four years for the 198 parties (countries) to the Montreal Protocol. Ramboll is a perfect fit for our meeting. We look forward to exploring common interests from different perspectives and establishing scientific and congenial relationships.”

The Montreal Protocol is best known for its role in protecting the ozone layer, but the panel’s work now reaches into a much wider range of environmental questions. Current areas of focus include climate change, UV radiation, human health, plastics, microplastics, PFAS, ecosystem protection, and sustainability.

These issues are increasingly important for governments, regulators, businesses, and communities. Scientific findings can influence decisions ranging from the durability of building materials and the design of climate-resilient infrastructure to environmental risk management and the regulation of emerging contaminants.

“The transition from the original CFC to alternatives with less environmental impact is a textbook example of how research, policymaking, industry interests, and environmental and human health protection all can play together,” says Mads Sulbaek Andersen, an atmospheric chemist and professor at California State University, Northridge and an affiliate associate professor at the University of Copenhagen.

He adds: “Knowledge from our research labs is used by regulators and industry forming the direction for new replacements for legacy chemicals. From propellants in medical inhalers and the freezer refrigerants used in your kitchen at home, these chemicals serve critical functions and are ubiquitous throughout society.”

Underpinning better environmental decisions with scientific understanding

The panel’s work provides governments and societies with carefully assessed scientific evidence on the environmental and health effects of a number of issues related to climate change. For organisations like Ramboll, that kind of independent assessment is important because better environmental decisions depend on strong scientific understanding.