Highlights of 4th & 5th May 2023 from 2023 BRS COPs
Highlights of 4th May
The Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions have three different working paces: hurrying cruising, and stuck. It was possible to think about how the BRS Conventions collaborate with a wide range of organizations, including those that deal with health and the environment, to protect people and the environment from harmful chemicals and waste.
The ones hurrying were the delegates to the Stockholm Convention. Delegates labored to make choices about the listing of substances, which were expected to be completed tomorrow. The phrase “spirit of compromise” was frequently used in the compliance room as efforts to build a compliance mechanism—now over 20 years in the making—progressed.
Another attempt by the Rotterdam Convention to begin work on a plan to add a new Annex to the Convention was unsuccessful. The proposal would establish a new list of drugs that the majority of Convention parties, but not all of them, agree should be handled through the PIC method. Various nations cannot agree on who should lead the negotiations. There should be one Co-Chair from a nation that is in favor of the plan and one from a nation that is against it for certain nations.
Highlights of 5th 2023
The Stockholm Convention adopted decisions to list new chemicals. This success allowed it to largely give way to the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions to delve further into their central issues.
The Stockholm Convention wrapped up most of its items. It agreed to:
• eliminate production and use of Dechlorane Plus (a flame retardant) and UV-328 (a UV filter used in plastics), with a few specific exemptions;
• take up new work on labeling POPs in stockpiles, products, and articles; and
• support countries through technical assistance.
Work on the compliance mechanism for the Stockholm Convention continued. Delegates were quietly optimistic that, finally, there might be agreement. But the negotiations are tentative, moving one step at a time, and allowing countries to consult. These discussions will continue next week.
