Pollution causing more deaths than COVID, action needed, says U.N. expert

FILE PHOTO: Children walk over a polluted area as they collect plastic materials in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

GENEVA (Reuters) - Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than COVID-19, a U.N. environmental report published on Tuesday said, calling for "immediate and ambitious action" to ban some toxic chemicals.

The report said pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is causing widespread human rights violations as well as at least 9 million premature deaths a year, and that the issue is largely being overlooked.