Latin American and Caribbean Group

The thirty-seventh meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 37) of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer convened for its final day on Friday, 8 April 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland. In the morning, plenary discussed the report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) on information on alternatives to ODS. The TEAP updated participants on its informal discussions on the report, informing participants that it will finalize a report for OEWG 38 based on suggestions at OEWG 37 and additional findings and updates that may become available. The Co-Chairs of the Contact Group on the Feasibility and Ways of Managing Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC Management Contact Group) gave a brief report of progress. OEWG 37 then adjourned for informal discussions among parties, which continued into the evening. OEWG37 is suspended at 12:40 am, and will be resumed prior to OEWG38 at a date still to be decided. IISD Reporting Services will produce a summary and analysis report of the 37th OEWG on Monday, 11 April 2016. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage,provided daily web coverage from the 37th OEWG. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has producd a summary and analysis report of the 37th OEWG, which is available in HTML and PDF formats. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Delegates from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries conferring during the evening HFCs Management Contact Group Co-Chairs ​Patrick McInerney​, Australia, and Xia Yingxian, China From L-R: Hamoud Al-Otaibi, Saudi Arabia; Abdelrahim Mohamed Al Hammadi, United Arab Emirates (UAE); Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat; Hassan Ali Mubarak, Bahrain; and Yaqoub Al-Matouq, Kuwait Claudia Paratori Cortés, Chile, and Laura Juliana Arciniegas, Colombia, discussing with other GRULAC delegates OEWG 37 Co-Chair Paul Krajnik, Austria HFCs Management Contact Group Co-Chair ​ Xia Yingxian, China Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Pakistan HFCs Management Contact Group Co-Chair Xia Yingxian, China, with Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat Richard Duke, US, with Taha Zatari, Saudi Arabia Emma Rachmawaty, Indonesia Sergey Vasiliev, the Russian Federation HFC Management Contact Group Co-Chair ​Patrick McInerney​, Australia From L-R: Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat; Gilbert Bankobeza, Ozone Secretariat; OEWG 37 Co-Chair Paul Krajnik, Austria; OEWG 37 Co-Chair Leslie Smith, Grenada; and Megumi Seki, Ozone Secretariat Ghazi Al Odat, Jordan, with, Ahmed El Korashy, Egypt Delegates from the UAE and Kuwait John Thompson, US Philip Owen, European Union (EU) Taha Mohammed Zatari, Saudi Arabia Delegates from the GCC countries

On Tuesday, delegates to INC7 convened in plenary in the morning to hear reports from the Co-Chairs of the contact groups on rules, finance, reporting and effectiveness evaluation, and technical issues. The contact group on reporting then met in parallel to plenary and the informal group on emissions met during lunch to continue work. In the afternoon, delegates reconvened in plenary to continue discussions of issues including wastes, emissions and contaminated sites. Delegates also addressed other business, including the report of the interim secretariat on its activities. Taher Shakashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan, offered a closing address in which he hailed the efforts of delegates and wished them well in their future negotiations. Chair Lugris thanked participants for their hard work and gaveled the meeting to a close at 6:22 pm. Please return to this site on Friday, 18 March for the Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of INC7. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC 7). The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF formats. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Morning Plenary View of the dais during the morning plenary Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair Reporting Contact Group Co-Chair David Kapindula, Zambia Technical Matters Contact Group Co-Chair Kateřina Šebková, Czech Republic Finance Contact Group Co-Chair Gregor Filyk, Canada Rules Contact Group Co-Chair Andrew McNee, Australia Finance Contact Group Co-Chair Gillian Guthrie, Jamaica John Roberts, UK, Co-Facilitator of the Best Available Technologies/ Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) Informal Group The Secretariat applauds the work completed by INC7 Achim Halpaap, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Rodica Ella Ivan, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Usman Tariq, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Carolyn Vickers, World Health Organisation (WHO) Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions Sani Mahazou, Niger Kasper Koefoed Hansen, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Reginald Hernaus, EU Boiyan Kpakolo, Liberia Dwayne Curtis, Bahamas Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, Zero Mercury Working Group Lee Bell, IPEN Mahmood Khwaja, Sustainable Development Policy Institute Contact Group on Reporting View of the dais for the Contact Group on Reporting Christopher Allen, EU Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Pakistan Eirik Hovland Steindal, Norway Contact Group Co-Chair Silvija Kalniņš, Latvia Paulina Riquelme Pallamar, Chile Closing Plenary Delegates gather for the closing plenary Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan Raouf Al Dabbas, Ministry of Environment, Jordan Peter Ayuk Enoh, Cameroon Mick Saito, Japan Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan Francis Kihumba, Kenya Lamya Aljorephani, Kuwait Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana L-R: Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan; Shan Tse, Jordan; Raouf Al Dabbas, Jordan; Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan; and Hana Shihabi, Jordan Andrei Pilipchuk, Belarus Shruti Rai Bhardwaj, India Franz Perrez, Switzerland Renato Cruz, the Philippines Sezaneh Seymour, US Idris Adamu Goji, Nigeria Jianhong Meng, China The meeting is gaveled to a close The INC7 family Around the Venue Delegates from Tunisia John Whitelaw, UNEP, speaks with Gabi Eigenmann, Switzerland Delegates meet informally A delegate tests out a 'hover board' Abdullah K. Tawlah and Abdullah Al Ghalbi, Saudi Arabia Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Delegates from GRULAC with the INC7 Chair Delegates from Spain Delegates from South Africa Delegates from Viet Nam Delegates from Jordan Marcus Richards, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with Franklyn Connor, Saint Kitts and Nevis Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering INC7 (L-R): Kiara Worth; Brett Wertz; Jen Allan; Jessica Templeton; Annelies van Gaalen; Delia Paul; and Tallash Kantai

On Sunday morning, delegates to INC7 convened in plenary to hear reports from contact groups on rules, finance and technical issues before moving ahead with work on issues including, inter alia, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, mercury supply sources and trade, environmentally sound interim storage of mercury other than waste mercury, mercury wastes, and contaminated sites. The contact group on rules continued its work in parallel with the morning plenary and into the afternoon. The contact groups on finance, reporting and technical issues convened in the afternoon. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC 7). The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF formats. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Delegates gather for the start of plenary Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair Contact Group on Rules Co-Chair Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan Technical Matters Contact Group Co-Chair Kateřina Šebková, Czech Republic Finance Contact Group Co-Chair Gregor Filyk, Canada John Roberts, UK, Co-Facilitator of the Best Available Technologies/ Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) Informal Group Susan Egan Keane, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Ken Davis, UNEP Carolyn Vickers, World Health Organisation (WHO) Aneta Willems, EU David Kapindula, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the African Group Agustina Camilli, Uruguay, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) Oumar Diaouré Cissé, Mali Norazeyan Dzul Kornain, Malaysia Lana Saria, Indonesia Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana Marianne Bailey, US Toï Pagnibam Meba, Togo Haddijatou Jallow, Sierra Leone Desiré Yameogo, Burkina Faso Griffins Ochieng, IPEN Dominique Bally Kpokro, Zero Mercury Working Group Contact Group on Rules Contact Group on Rules Contact Group Co-Chairs Andrew McNee, Australia, and Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan Jill Hanna, EU Angela Rivera, Colombia Silvia Maciunas, Canada Wondwossen Wondemagegnehu, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the African Group Contact Group on Technical Matters Contact Group on Technical Matters Bettina Hitzfeld, Switzerland Jean Le Roux, New Zealand Christopher Allen, EU Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Pakistan Contact Group on Finance Contact Group on Finance Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran Jozef Buys, EU Adel Shafei Mohamed Osman, Egypt Gabi Eigenmann, Switzerland Contact Group on Reporting Contact Group on Reporting Mick Saito, Japan Contact Group Co-Chair Silvija Kalniņš, Latvia Virginia Poter, Canada Eirik Hovland Steindal, Norway Sheila Logan, interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention Around the Venue Delegates from Japan Delegates from China Delegates between sessions Delegates meet informally A delegate views the ENB website Georg Karlaganis, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Documents discussing the distribution of mercury around the world

The seventh session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury (INC7) opened Thursday and is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, March 15 at the Dead Sea, Jordan. Plenary convened in the morning for the opening of the meeting, which included welcome addresses by Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Director of the UN Environment Programme, and Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan, who was speaking on behalf of King Abdullah II. Delegates reconvened in plenary in the afternoon to continue work on the substantive items on its agenda, including hearing opening statements from regions and countries. In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Government of Jordan. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC 7). The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF formats. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening Ceremony Delegates gather for the opening ceremony Jacob Duer, interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director Jordanian dancers perform a traditional dance to open the meeting Jordanian youth recite a pledge to protect the environment Side Events Side event discussing the Jordan Dead Sea industries, hosted by the Government of Jordan Side event 'Gearing up for implementation - what are the first steps?' hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Afternoon Plenary L-R: Masa Nagai, UNEP; Jacob Duer, intermin secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair; Sheila Logan, interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Nina Cromnier, Sweden, Rapporteur; and Andrea Lechner, BRS Secretariat Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group Reginald Hernaus, EU Agustina Camilli, Uruguay, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) Mick Saito, Japan, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Region David Kapindula, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the African Group Vladimir Lenev, Russian Federation, speaking on behalf of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Group Franz Perrez, Switzerland Zhao Wei Jun, China Kasimu Bayero, Nigeria Juan Miguel Cuna, the Philippines Sezaneh Seymour, US Luay Al Mukhtar, Iraq Tuti Hendrawati Mintarsih, Indonesia Around the Venue Delegates gather before the start of plenary Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair; Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director; and Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan, welcomes delegates to the meeting Delegates from Brazil The youngest delegate attending the meeting A delegate reads the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website Delegates from China review a document Delegates gather informally before the start of plenary Artifacts from Jordan on display around the venue Reception Hosted by the Government of Jordan Delegates gather for the reception hosted by the Government of Jordan Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan, and Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director Delegates from Saudi Arabia Delegates throughout the evening