Be Aware of Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life

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Beyond addressing resource mobilization and the illegal traffic of hazardous chemicals and wastes, delegates tried to effectiveness challenges under the Rotterdam Convention, listed new persistent organic pollutants and adopted a compliance mechanism under the Stockholm Convention, and tackled guidelines on different categories of hazardous wastes under the Basel Convention.

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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:

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.

View past and future events

Past event

1st Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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1st Session of the Criteria Expert Group (CEG-1) for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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2nd Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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2nd Session of the Criteria Expert Group (CEG-2) for Persistent Organic Pollutants

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3rd Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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4th Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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5th Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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6th Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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7th Session of the INC for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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2nd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP2) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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2nd Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-2)

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3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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3rd Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-3)

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4th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-4)

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4th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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5th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-5)

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6th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-6)

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5th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP5) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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7th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-7)

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8th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-8)

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2013 Meetings of Basel Convention COP11, Rotterdam Convention COP6, Stockholm Convention COP6, and ExCOPs2

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9th Meeting of the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-9)

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POPRC and CRC Joint Meeting, and CRC-9

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10th Meeting of the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-10)

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2015 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

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11th Meeting of the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-11)

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12th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-12)

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2017 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

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13th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-13)

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14th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-14) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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2019 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

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15th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-15)

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16th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-16)

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2021 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

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17th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-17)

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Face-to-Face Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

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18th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-18)

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2023 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

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PCB Fair: Launch of the report on progress towards elimination of PCBs

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PCB Fair: Results achieved, challenges and lessons learned on PCB elimination to meet the Stockholm Convention goals

Past event

PCB Fair: Tools and guidance to support parties achieving the 2025 and 2028 Targets on PCB

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