Highlights and images for 9 May 2019

Highlights for Thursday, 9 May 2019

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.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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Plenary: Joint Session

View of plenary during the joint session

Cristina de Avila, EU

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

Zaigham Abbas, Pakistan

Momodou Jama Suwareh, the Gambia

Abdoulaye Moussa Abderamon, Chad

Sarah Maillefer, Switzerland

Christopher Kanema, Zambia

Francis Kihumba Njuguna, Kenya

Karissa Kovner, US

Bangaly Dioumessy, Guinea

Roger Baro, Burkina Faso

Yajing Tian, China

Serge Karonkano, Burundi

Aïta Sarr Seck, Senegal

Various decisions are adopted during the plenary

Contact Groups

Basel Convention Plastics small drafting group on amendments to the annexes

View of the dais during the Contact Group on Technical Assistance and Financial Resources

Contact Group on Programme of Work and Budget

Contact Group on Rotterdam Convention Effectiveness

Around the Venue

Delegates at the start of plenary

Delegates check the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website to follow negotiations

Georg Karlaganis, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), speaks with Felix Wertli, Switzerland

Delegates from the Netherlands and New Zealand

Delegates from Eritrea

Delegates from Mozambique

Delegates from Peru

Delegates from Iraq

Delegates from Lebanon

Björn Beeler, International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN)

Andrea Volpato, Order of Chemists and Physicists of the Province of Treviso, with Ahmet Daskin, Turkey