Pollution today is pervasive and persistent. While the world has achieved significant economic growth over the past few decades, it has been accompanied by large amounts of pollution, with significant impacts on human health and ecosystems and the ways in which some of the major Earth system processes, such as the climate, are functioning. This report describes the pollution challenge, explores what is already being done to address pollution, and proposes 50 focused and actionable interventions to address pollution in all its forms. The report is a call to act towards a pollution-free planet.

A total of 234 cans of enamel decorative paints were purchased in retail establishments in the following nine countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, and Uruguay. An additional 10 cans of anti-corrosive enamel paints were purchased in Côte d'Ivoire. All the paints – the 234 samples of decorative paints and the 10 samples of anti-corrosive paints – were tested for their total lead content, and dry weight.

Carbon dioxide is altering the chemistry of the surface oceans and causing them to become more acidic. From scientists and marine resource managers, to policy and decision-makers, there is growing concern that the process called ocean acidification could have significant consequences on marine organisms which may alter species composition, disrupt marine food webs and ecosystems and potentially damage fishing, tourism and other human activities connected to the seas.

This report broadly reviews the atmospheric transport of sulphur compounds on a regional scale. It lists estimates of present global emissions and summarizes present knowledge concerning transport models needed to estimate and predict sulphur oxide transport up to distances of several thousand kilometres. The report notes that present knowledge about these processes is insufficient for making adequate estimates of fluxes or for predicting the outcome of severe episodes.