Optimism in run-up to UN mercury conference
The countries of the world are set to gather in Stockholm this June to lay the groundwork for a global mercury treaty. No binding international regulations exist at the moment for the use and emissions of mercury, one of the most dangerous substances in the world.
Stockholm
The UN Environment Programme decided last year to launch negotiations about a global agreement. The Nordic countries have long played an active role in the international mercury process – a role about to be strengthened.
Hundreds of civil servants, politicians and experts will gather in Stockholm, 7-11 June, for a UN conference that will hopefully lead to a treaty by 2013.
”It is particularly gratifying that the first meeting is being held in the Nordic Region. We have been pushing for these negotiations for a long time,” says the Swedish Minister of the Environment, Andrea Carlgren.
The conference is being funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), the intra-governmental body for co-operation between the Nordic countries. Halldór Ásgrímsson, the Secretary General of the NCM, is optimistic in the run-up to this historic occasion.
”Mercury threatens our health and the environment, and binding measures are a must if we are to restrict, and in some cases ban, its use. The UN conference in Stockholm is a first step on the path towards a global and binding agreement,” says Ásgrímsson, a former Prime Minister of Iceland.
Mercury is a global problem. It carries on the wind for thousands of miles, so international action is the only answer.
The Nordic countries have consistently and consciously provided political support and funding for international efforts to get to grips with the problems associated with mercury.
Contacts
Anna Gran
Phone
+45 33 96 03 42
Email
ang@norden.org
