Clean Planet, Healthy People: Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste

Work continued apace on Thursday at the 2019 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions. On the penultimate day of the meetings, delegates convened in plenary in the morning to look into issues of joint concern, as well as work related to the Rotterdam Convention (RC). They addressed several matters related to the implementation of the RC, including by adopting decisions that seek to ensure the provision of technical assistance and increase the number of parties that submit notifications of final regulatory action on chemicals.

With several significant issues as yet unresolved, plenary was suspended after the morning session to allow delegates to work in contact groups and carry out informal consultations in order to find common ground. The critical issues that remain include plastic wastes, and electronic and electrical wastes (e-wastes) under the Basel Convention, the listing of four chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent procedure, and – crucially – a budget to fund the work that will be carried out in 2020-2021 to implement all three Conventions. With many participants emphasizing that the outstanding agenda items are essential to meaningful action and effective implementation, delegates anticipated a late night of intense negotiations on Thursday.

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