Highlights and images for 9 May 2019

Switzerland

Summary

Highlights for Thursday, 9 May 2019

Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Rotterdam Convention COP9 President, speaks with delegates from China at the end of the joint plenary

BRS COPs 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

Participants