Chemicals and Waste Conventions.

The 2019 Joint Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions have achieved several notable results, including the establishment of a compliance mechanism for the Rotterdam Convention procedure on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade; the inclusion of dicofol and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and related compounds in the agenda of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) PFOA; and the adoption of an amendment to deal with some plastic waste under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. You need to know about jeu machine a sous gratuit sans telechargement.

The “Three CoPs” summary published in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin indicates that the decision to tackle plastic waste was “greeted with great enthusiasm, as delegates celebrated the global agreement to take action on this issue. complex and urgent “.

Parties to the Basel Convention have also adopted technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic (e-waste) waste, while an expert working group will continue its work to address export-related issues. . waste intended to be rehabilitated is considered as a loophole allowing the export of end-of-life products, under the pretext of “repairability”.

The Stockholm Convention COP also resulted in decisions to end some of the exemptions for the continued production and use of certain industrial chemicals. Many welcomed these decisions, which saw evidence that this “living” convention was capable of effectively dealing with substances of economic importance but posing significant risks to human health and the environment.

The decision to adopt a compliance mechanism under the Rotterdam Convention at its ninth session followed 15 years of discussions. COP9 delegates took the unprecedented step of voting to establish a new annex that would define the procedures and mechanisms for Parties to meet their obligations. This new mechanism will help Parties identify and address gaps in compliance with the Convention, to ensure that governments have the information they need on hazardous chemicals to assess risks and make informed decisions. when importing chemicals.

More than 1,700 participants attended the Triple COP, which took place from April 29 to May 10, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. Negotiations at the Basel Convention COP14, the Rotterdam COP9 Convention and the COP9 Stockholm Convention have focused on Convention-specific issues and thus a common concern to at least two of the three conventions, including cooperation and coordination between conventions to address issues such as POPs wastes.

In his closing statement, Rolph Payet, executive secretary of the BRS conventions of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), highlighted the decision to treat plastic waste as “a globally binding, legally binding mechanism for waste management”. plastics “. , “Is recognized as one of the most urgent environmental problems in the world, and the fact that nearly a million people around the world have signed a petition calling on the parties to the Basel Convention to take action here in Geneva COP is a sign of public awareness and the desire to act is high. “

Source: SDG Knowledge Hub.