After years of inaction on the issue, environmental ministers from around the global on Friday agreed to negotiate a treaty to control mercury pollution.
The agreement resulted from a dramatic shift in the U.S. position by the Obama administration, which now supports the creation of a mercury treaty, according to NGOs. The Bush administration had opposed any legally binding measures.
The treaty will include actions to reduce mercury supply, its use in products and processes, and atmospheric mercury emissions, which will ultimately reduce human exposure to mercury globally. The preparations for negotiations on the global treaty will start later this year, with discussions beginning in earnest in 2010 with a view to wrapping up by 2013.
"Developing a treaty is a critical first step towards solving the
global mercury crisis," said Michael Bender, director of the US Mercury
Policy Project and the Zero Mercury Working Group. "This was made
possible by President Obama’s global view and the inspiration and
momentum generated by it."
Mercury is a global pollutant that travels long distances. Its most
toxic form–methylmercury–accumulates in large predatory fish and is
taken up in our bodies through eating fish, with the worst impacts on
babies in utero and small children.
"After the U.S. announcement, many other countries jumped on board, notably China and India, who had opposed a treaty up until this meeting," said Bender. "The global good will generated by President Obama clearly inspired other delegations to work through difficult issues and build consensus for treaty."
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