Governments and stakeholders from around the world will from 24 April to 5 May meet in Geneva to work towards reducing our exposure to harmful chemicals and managing hazardous wastes in an environmentally sound manner.

“Chemicals are part of everything in our lives – part of culture, food, shelter, clothing, consumer goods and industry. They underpin industrial and economic development and are an important part of the solution to poverty” underlined Rolph Payet – Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

More than 40 side events are scheduled alongside the meetings, which are formally known as the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention – which covers transboundary movements of hazardous waste; the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention covering prior consent for chemical trading; and the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention covering persistent organic pollutants.

The Stockholm Convention meeting is likely to announce that the economic conditions are shaping up to justify banning or restricting the use of more chemicals.

To view all meeting documents and the full schedule, click here. A full briefing ahead of the meetings was organised by the Geneva Environment Network on 5 April.

For more information contact charles.avis@brsmeas.org