Joint Release with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the EnvironmentThe Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC4) to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury in Punta del Este, Uruguay

(1) Venue and other information

Date:

From June 27 (Wed) to July 2 (Mon), 2012

Venue:

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Organizer:

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

(2) Participants

The session was attended by about 550 participants, including delegations of the governments of about 130 countries and regions throughout the world as well as representatives of international organizations and NGOs.

The Government of Japan sent a government delegation consisting of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of the Environment.

(1) Discussions on the draft text of the treaty

In the session, discussion was held based on the draft text created by the Secretariat of the UNEP.

As a result, regarding the areas of Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM), storage, wastes, contaminated sites and awareness-raising, the draft text was generally streamlined, with the exception of certain issues, such as the parts related to other clauses. Certain results were also achieved following consideration of the draft text for areas such as mercury-added products and manufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury compounds are used, atmospheric emission and mercury releases to water and land, as well as financial resources and technical assistance.

Among these fields, the major points of discussion on items related to METI are as follows.

International trading

Regarding the export of mercury, the major points of discussion were (i) whether the consent should be obtained in advance through the government of the exporting country notifying the government of the importing country, and whether the consent of the counterpart country can be omitted when it is included in the registration of importable items prepared in advance, and (ii) whether the procedures for the case where the importing country is a contracting country of the instrument and the case where it is a non-contracting country should differ. (The participants did not reach a conclusion.)

Products and manufacturing process

The major point of discussion was whether a positive list system, which includes in the treaty the categories of products to be regulated in terms of the inclusion of mercury, or a negative list system, which includes in the treaty the categories of products that are excluded from the regulation, should be adopted. Although the participants did not reach a conclusion during the session, they decided that the discussion should continue based on the positive list system in the meantime.

Storage

Regarding the environmentally-proper storage method of mercury and mercury compounds, the participants discussed whether the conference of contracting countries should adopt such method as a mere guidance or make it an obligatory requirement. They also discussed the scope of the application of the method.

Atmospheric emissions

Because the different countries put forth various opinions, the participants decided that discussion on the draft text should continue. The chairman of the contact group compiled a paper on the key points of the discussion on how the best available technology and best environmental performance (TAT/BEP) can be applied to new and existing facilities.

(2) Future schedule

The next session, which will be the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, is scheduled to be held in January 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. In the fifth session, discussion will be held based on the draft text for the agreement of the treaty, which is written by the Chairman.

July 6, 2012

Chemical Management Policy Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau