About this webinar
This timely webinar will review the implications of the Minamata Convention on Mercury on coal. COP1, the 1st Conference of the Parties, of the convention was held in Geneva at the end of September. Tune in to to get a full update on the final text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and a discussion on the potential consequences for emerging economies who have a significant dependence on coal.
UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) first raised the issue of mercury as the most important, unregulated, pollutant in the global environment in the mid 2000s and, in response, established the first INC (International Negotiating Committee) and the UNEP Partnership Areas in 2008. The IEA CCC has been lead of the Coal Partnership since its inception.
Coordinating mercury reduction programmes throughout the world will include numerous social, economic and technological challenges and will be dependent on technology transfer as well as significant international funding. By the time COP1 of Minamata eventually closed, 83 countries had signed the Minamata convention and committed to developing national implementation plans. The next step will be the acceptance of those plans and, ultimately, the movement of these plans into action.
