Highlights and images for 5 November 2021

On the final day of deliberations, delegates to the first segment of the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-4.1) gathered to conclude work on the urgent items that had required meeting in a virtual format.

On the 2022 Programme of Work and Budget, Co-Chairs Reginald Hernaus (the Netherlands) and Sam Adu-Kumi (Ghana) reported on the contact group’s deliberations, noting that these had continued into what were the early hours of Friday, 5 November, for those participating from the Asia Pacific region. The Co-Chairs introduced a draft decision, which reflects an agreed strategy for funding the 2022 budget line relating to activities for the Convention’s first effectiveness evaluation. Parties adopted the draft decision without amendment.

Parties also adopted a decision setting the dates of the in-person segment of the COP (COP-4.2), which will convene in Bali, Indonesia, from 21-25 March 2022.

Participants also resumed a discussion, begun on Wednesday, 3 November, of the Eighth Replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-8). COP-4 President Rosa Vivien Ratnawati (Indonesia) reminded parties of the time-sensitive nature of informing the replenishment negotiations, as the negotiations will conclude prior to COP-4.2. Many parties underscored the importance of supporting developing country parties’ implementation of the Convention, notably compliance with impending deadlines. They stressed the need for increased funding to the chemicals and waste focal area under GEF-8, in order to facilitate implementation of the Convention. COP-4 President Ratnawati encouraged parties to also redouble coordination efforts at the national level with their GEF focal points to prioritize the Minamata Convention during the replenishment. Participating from the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, GEF CEO and Chairperson, assured parties that concerns raised at COP-4.1 will inform the replenishment process.

In closing remarks, Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention, congratulated parties on delivering on all expected outcomes, and commended participants for their collaborative spirit and vibrant commitment to the Convention. COP-4 President Ratnawati noted that COP-4.1 had laid important foundations for COP-4.2 and expressed hope that participants’ close cooperation as family and friends would continue. She warned the pandemic should not stop or weaken efforts to eliminate mercury, pointing to a common obligation to protect the health and wellbeing of future generations by reducing further exposure to mercury.

COP-4 President Ratnawati adjourned the meeting at 3:05 pm in Geneva, Switzerland / 9:05 pm in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of COP-4.1 will be available on Monday, 8 November 2021.