Brussels, 21/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has welcomed the successful UN negotiations, under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which, in Geneva on Saturday 19 January, helped to broker a binding international treaty on the control of the mercury applications most dangerous to human health and the environment. This treaty will be signed in Minamata, Japan, next October. The agreement covers the life cycle of this heavy metal, from the moment it is extracted up until its elimination. It contains trade provisions, rules on the small-scale extraction of gold, to products containing mercury, as well as mercury emissions and provisions allowing for future more targeted actions. Commissioner Janez Potocnik, responsible for the environment, described this agreement as “solid, balanced and dynamic”.
Environmental NGO members of the “Zero Mercury” work group (whose members include NGO members of the European Environment Bureau) welcomed the forthcoming adoption of the comprehensive legal instrument as “a major accomplishment” but regretted that the treaty did not go far enough in attacking the increasing risks relating to mercury exposure. Michael T. Bender, work group coordinator, argued that “the instrument is hampered by weak controls on mercury emissions from major sources like coal-fired power plants.” (AN/transl.fl)