The Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions met to collectively advance the sound management of chemicals and waste. The three treaties each have a distinct role to play in chemicals and waste management. Yet, they also collaborate to tackle these complex issues—and importantly how to provide technical assistance and financial resources—together.

These joint meetings represented a unique format in global environmental governance. The 2023 “triple COP” was comprised of:

• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Certain Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, sixteenth Conference of the Parties (BC COP16)
• Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, eleventh COP (RC COP11)
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), eleventh COP (SC COP11)

The Basel Convention recently took landmark decisions, including on plastics and e-waste (or, electronical and electrical waste). Both these rapidly growing waste streams are now part of the Convention’s prior informed consent (PIC) procedure. Work at this meeting focused on ironing out the details, including on guidelines for the environmentally-sound management of these wastes, as well as other waste streams. Discussions on how to modernize and improve the PIC procedure also continued.

The Rotterdam Convention has increasingly struggled in recent years to list chemicals in the Convention, which would make them subject to its PIC procedure. At this meeting, parties considered a new proposal to amend the Convention by adding a new annex. This annex would have essentially taken a “coalition of the willing” approach, allowing chemicals the be listed and for parties to opt in or out of the PIC procedure.

The Stockholm Convention is the only treaty of the three that eliminates or restricts the production and use of chemicals. It considerde proposals to list Dechlorane Plus, a flame retardant, UV-328, an ultraviolet filter used in plastics, and methoxychlor, a pesticide. All of the proposals were to eliminate production and use of the chemicals. For Dechlorane Plus and UV-328, there were some specific exemptions set out after deliberations by the scientific subsidiary body, the POPs Review Committee.

The meetings took place 1-12 May in Geneva, Switzerland.

This issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) was written and edited by Jennifer Allan, Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Olivia Pasini, and Moritz Petersmann. The digital editor was Kiara Worth. The editor was Pamela Chasek.