The sixteenth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Review Committee (POPRC-16) of the Stockholm Convention on POPs took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was originally scheduled for September 2020.

POPRC-16 considered:

• the draft risk profiles for methoxychlor and for Dechlorane Plus and its syn-isomer and anti-isomer;
• a proposal by Switzerland to include UV-328 under Annexes A, B, and/or C of the Convention;
• a review of information related to specific exemptions for decabromodiphenyl ether and short-chain chlorinated paraffins; and,
• an evaluation and review of progress made by parties towards eliminating brominated diphenyl ethers contained in articles and their continued need for the specific exemptions for those chemicals.

In addition to this technical work, POPRC-16 aimed to:

• consider a report on activities to support effective participation in the work of the POPRC;
• review information on the rotation of POPRC membership; and,
• agree on the workplan for the intersessional period until POPRC-17.

In advance of POPRC-16, pre-meetings were held online from 1-3 December 2020 to initiate conversations on the technical work before the Committee.

The POPRC is a 31-member expert committee established under Article 8 of the Convention. The committee has eight government-designated experts from Africa, eight from Asia and the Pacific, three from Central and Eastern Europe, five from Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven from Western European and Other States. The POPRC is tasked with reviewing proposals submitted by a party to list a new substance under the Convention.

Following a submission, the POPRC follows a three-stage review process. The first stage is to review the proposal against criteria, set out in Annex D, relating to persistence, bio-accumulation, potential for long-range environmental transport, and adverse effects. If the Annex D criteria are deemed met, then the substance is moved to the second stage of review; this entails the preparation of a risk profile following information requirements set out in Annex E.

If, on the basis of this risk profile, the POPRC concludes that global action is warranted, then the third stage of review involves preparing a risk management evaluation detailing socio-economic considerations of possible control measures according to Annex F. At the end of these three stages of review, the POPRC decides whether to recommend listing under Annex A (elimination), Annex B (restriction), and/or Annex C (unintentional production) and this recommendation is then forwarded to the Conference of the Parties (COP).

The COP then decides whether to amend Annexes A, B and/or C by listing the proposed substance under the Convention. For more information, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary and analysis from POPRC-15 in October 2019.

When the Convention was adopted in 2001, it listed 12 POPs known as the “dirty dozen.” As of December 2020, that list has expanded, based on POPRC recommendations, to include 30 substances, including pesticides, industrial chemicals, and by-products.