FIRST STOCKHOLM COP MOVES TOWARDS IMPLEMENTATION

In what was generally described as constructive meeting, the first Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 2-6 May, made substantial progress towards setting up the process for implementing the Convention. Parties, however, continued to struggle with the challenges developing countries face in putting into practice the goals of the Convention.

The cost of environmentally-friendly production processes, and their feasibility in developing countries, featured in discussions on dioxins and furans -- POPs that are generated unintentionally from industrial processes. In an effort to minimise and eliminate releases of such POPs, a number of OECD countries prior to the meeting drew up a new set of Guidelines on Best Available Techniques and Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP). During discussions of the guidelines, however, developing countries noted that they did not have the resources for immediate implementation, and emphasised the need for the guidelines to take into account economic feasibility and to address the specific circumstances of developing countries, including social and economic concerns. However, the Secretariat to the Convention clarified that the Guidelines were not meant to be a standard for compliance, but rather describe the "highest point" that Parties to the Convention could strive towards.

The COP decision on this issue encourages Parties to the Convention to take the draft guidelines "into account", but stopped short of adopting them. Instead, the COP decided to set up an expert group, including both the experts who drafted the Guidelines and representatives from all regions, tasked with making the guidelines more user-friendly and ensuring that they do not require Parties to adopt the most expensive and innovative technologies and processes.

In a process that was expected to be difficult, participants agreed relatively quickly on the terms of reference for a new Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC)charged with deciding which new chemicals are added to list of Stockholm Convention POPs. To avoid discussions replicating the heated debate seen last year on the composition of the Rotterdam Convention's Chemical Review Committee (CRC), delegates at the COP decided to adopt the CRC model in terms of size, geographic distribution, rotation of experts, and a number of details for the POPRC. Clifton Curtis, Director of WWF's Global Toxics Program, described the Committee as a "key element" of the Convention. "If it takes 5-10 years to get substances added we're going to be losing the battle," Clifton noted, suggesting that an efficient and transparent process was necessary to deal with the increasing number of new dangerous chemicals.

The POPRC already has four new chemicals to consider, namely, flame retardant pentabromodiphenyl ether nominated by Norway, a group of chemicals known as hexachlorocyclohexanes which include a pesticide called lindane from Mexico, and from the EU a pesticide named chlordecone and flame retardant hexabromobiphenyl. WWF has proposed a list of twenty chemicals for addition to the Convention, many of which are used in everyday products. Perfluorinated compounds, for example, are employed in the production of textiles, food packaging and non-stick coatings.

Parties also considered the best way to phase out DDT, one of the Stockholm POPs. They agreed to establish a DDT registrar, an exemptions application form for DDT, and asked the Convention Secretariat to continue work on reporting and evaluation of efforts to reduce DDT use. While DDT has been shown to lead to chronic ailments in humans and has other adverse environmental and health impacts, it is still widely used as an effective and low-cost weapon against the mosquitoes that transmit malaria, which kills over a million people around the world every year. The COP attempted to strike a balance between the harm that results from exposure to DDT and the damage caused by malaria, extending exception to the DDT ban for 25 countries that said that they needed to use it to control malaria.

Although the US has not yet ratified the Convention, the US deputy assistant secretary for environment said on the sidelines of the COP that the country hopes to be party to the treaty within a year.

Background

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment through the reduction and elimination of the production and use of a list of highly hazardous chemicals called POPs. POPs share four characteristics: they are toxic; they are persistent, resisting normal processes that break down contaminants; they accumulate in the body fat of people and animals and are passed from mother to foetus; and they can travel great distances on wind and water currents. There are currently twelve chemicals on the Stockholm Convention list: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexaclorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene, PCBs, dioxins and furans.

Under paragraph 31(i) of the Doha Declarations, WTO Members in the Committee on Trade and Development Special Session have been negotiating on the "relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations set out in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)". There appears to be widespread agreement among WTO Members to include the Stockholm Convention among the MEAs to be covered by the negotiated outcome.

Additional Resources

Daily coverage, provided by IISD Linkages

Analysis and Description of the Convention by the WTO Secretariat.

ICTSD Reporting; ENB, Vol. 15 No. 117; "WWF Lists 20 Chemicals to be Added to POPs Treaty," WWF PRESS RELEASE, 28 April 2005; "Governments Meet to Eliminate 12 Persistent Organic Pollutants," ENS, 2 May 2005; "US Looking Next Year to Join Global Treaty Banning World's Most Toxic Chemicals," AP, 6 May 2005; "Despite Int'l Agreement, DDT Will Not Disappear Overnight," IPS, 5 May 2005.