The prospect of an international mercury treaty moved forward on Friday at the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) meeting in Nairobi. The countries agreed to launch negotiations on an international mercury treaty to deal with emissions of mercury. The goal is to have a binding agreement in place by 2013 at the latest.

The Nordic Region has been working for some time to reach global agreement on limiting the use of mercury. The Nordic Council of Ministers has, for example, conducted several information drives directed at influencing the decision at the UNEP's meeting, as well as organising several high level meetings in recent years.

The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Halldór Ásgrímsson, warmly welcomed the latest breakthrough in the negotiation process.

"We have achieved a great deal thanks to national and joint Nordic efforts. This breakthrough is one of the most important decisions in the environment field in many years, not least for our seas. The positive attitude is a good omen with a view to global agreement at the climate summit in Copenhagen in December", said Ásgrímsson.

Studies show that the levels of mercury in the environment are increasing at an alarming rate everywhere in the world. Several countries have therefore, for example, tightened up the recommendations of how much fish people should eat.

There are plans to organise the first preparatory negotiation meeting on a binding mercury treaty in Stockholm in the autumn within the framework of Sweden's EU Presidency. The Nordic Council of Ministers is prepared to co-finance the conference with at least DKK 400,000.