Highlights and images for 29 April 2019

Summary

Highlights for Monday, 29 April 2019

Delegates gather for the start of the BRS COPs

The fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel Convention (BC COP14), the ninth meeting of the COP to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP9), and the ninth meeting of the COP to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP9) opened in Geneva, Switzerland. Meeting jointly in plenary in the morning and early afternoon, the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) COPs adopted the agendas and organization of work for each COP, and initiated discussions on technical assistance and financial resources under the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions, and financial resources and mechanisms under the Stockholm Convention.Regional groups used their opening statements to call for urgent action on emerging issues, such as marine plastic litter and microplastics, as well as longstanding challenges ranging from management of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to the establishment of compliance mechanisms under the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. In the discussion of technical assistance, many delegates underscored the importance of regional centres in supporting parties’ implementation of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions through capacity building. Several called for additional resources to deal with issues such as existing and new POPs, marine litter, and plastic waste, and noted that technical assistance is closely linked to compliance.In the afternoon, the Stockholm Convention COP convened to begin discussions of listing of chemicals in Annex A (elimination), B (reduction) and/or C (unintentional releases). After brief discussions, delegates decided to list the pesticide dicofol in Annex A of the Convention with no exemptions for continued production or use. Delegates then considered the POPs Review Committee’s recommendation to list perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Annex A or B, and agreed to establish a contact group for further work on this issue.As the first day of the Triple COPs drew to a close, delegates celebrated what many characterized as an unexpectedly quick decision on dicofol, but also noted issues that were likely to be more challenging. Several pointed to the Rotterdam Convention's compliance mechanism and listing PFOA in the Stockholm Convention as particularly tricky, with several highlighting the need for technical assistance and financial resources to support parties’ work to implement the Conventions.For more details on the day's events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 2019 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

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Opening Plenary

The BRS COPs opened with a traditional Swiss performance

Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland

Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President

Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions

Morning Plenary

Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President; Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Rotterdam Convention COP9 President; and Abraham Zivayi Matiza, Basel Convention COP14 President, open the discussions

Natalia Rodriguez Pacheco, Bolivia, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

Serge Molly Allo'o Allo'o, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group

Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran, speaking on behalf of Asia-Pacific

Flavius Ardelean Motoc, EU

Rolando Pinzon, Panama

Pralong Dumrongthai, Thailand

Elham Refaat Abdel Aziz, Egypt

Keima Gardiner, Trinidad and Tobago

Ana Berejiani, Georgia

Zaigham Abbas, Pakistan

Chizuru Aoki, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Afternoon Plenary

View of the dais during the afternoon plenary

Roxanne Blesam, Palau

Luis Vayas, Ecuador

Yaser Khalil Abu Shanab, Palestine

S L Dhammika Wijayasinghe, Sri Lanka

Charles Ikeah, Nigeria

Nazem Thlaj, Syria

Xuezhi Xiao, China

María Florencia Grimalt, Argentina

Obed Baloyi, South Africa

Mariann Lloyd-Smith, International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN)

Siqiniq Maupin, speaking on behalf of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, International Indian Treaty Council, and Native Movement

Mick Tisbury, speaking on behalf of Australian, New Zealand, and North American firefighters

Delegates applaud the decision to list dicofol in Annex A of the SC without exemption

Evening Reception hosted by Switzerland

View of the dais during the opening session

Felix Wertli, Switzerland

Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, FAO

Around the Venue

(L-R): Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, FAO; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions; Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President; Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland; Felix Wertli, Switzerland; and Carlos Martin-Novella, BRS Deputy Executive Secretary