2009 UNEP Governing Council: one of these years to be remembered

The last Governing Council of UNEP will be probably be remembered as the begging of the end for mercury. It has been finally approved to establish a legally binding instrument on mercury, commencing the work of the first intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) in 2010. After more than nine years advocating on the need to elaborate a legally-binding mechanism to control, reduce and eliminate mercury; this agreement is indeed an important step forward and really good news –a prolonged applause accompanied the decision, that some defined to be a moment of shared spirit of compromise.

The change of position on mercury of the recently new US administration has been one of the most expected political movements, and it has happened. Although they did not go as far as leaving the door clearly open to use this instrument to add other hazardous substance as lead and cadmium, the change of position and attitude it is in itself relevant. Let’s hope this more concealing and compromised position will be the attitude in the rest of the environmental forums.

At this meeting, UNEP has also presented a report called “Green New Deal” in which puts forward the need to integrate environmental questions as part of the economic response and measures that are being articulated to address current crises and to move towards a green economy. The report presents the opportunities that this crisis might open and expresses the need to redirect investments and policies towards those sectors that incorporate the environmental dimension.

The notion of green economy has been used by many of the Ministers and delegates during the Ministerial Consultations, though definitions have not been always the same. It was largely presented the positive opportunities of access into market, employment, investment… Many countries presented project on the “green” -particularly renewable energies.

Besides this, it has prevailed a certain shared sentiment mainly amongst the developing countries that this new green innovations will only benefit and will be accessible in developed countries. So aspects as the need to integrate social redistribution, making the link with the agenda of poverty eradication and the need to change the current model were launched at the debate but some of them were left quite aside.

You can download the report on the UNEP Green New Deal here. The Trade Union statement can be dowloaded here, and one of the inverventions made in Plenary at the Minsterial Consultations here.