BRS COPs 2022

Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
Geneva, Switzerland
June 6-17, 2022

IPEN welcomed several notable decisions were adopted at the closing of two weeks of BRS negotiations and commented on the need for future work to eliminate global threats to public health and the environment from POPs.

IPEN Statement

BRS Conventions Take Steps for Global Protections from Toxic Chemicals

At the conclusion of the BRS COPs, IPEN welcomed the decision to globally ban the toxic PFAS chemical PFHxS, together with about 80 related substances, with no exempted uses. Also, PFOA, another chemical in the PFAS family that was banned under the Convention in 2019, was adopted for listing under the Rotterdam Convention that controls trade in hazardous chemicals.

IPEN Science Advisor Dr Sara Brosché said “This is an important step towards banning more of these toxic ‘forever chemicals’ that pollute the environment and humans all over the world, threatening the health of millions of people. But the chemicals industry keeps replacing banned PFAS with different but equally harmful PFAS. That’s why there is an urgent need to ban all PFAS rather than addressing them one by one.”

The Parties to the Basel Convention also took a significant step during the COP towards controlling the highly polluting practice of electronic waste dumping by listing e-waste under the Convention.

Click below to read IPEN’s press statement.

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IPEN Educational Events

During the negotiations, IPEN co-hosted several events to educate delegates, including:

Prior to the BRS COPs, IPEN and Arnika hosted a webinar on “POPs in Waste” and the need for Low POPs Content Levels (see the briefing, below).
A panel on “Health, Chemicals, Plastics & a Non-Toxic Circular Economy.”
A panel on “Plastics and Refuse-Derived Fuel: Fuel Product or Plastic Waste Export?”
A discussion among young people on “Youth Participation in National Implementation Plan and Strategies.”
A panel on “Chemical recycling of plastics – What is it and what impacts for the environment?”

Preceding this panel, IPENers in costume presented delegates with a parade of unicorns, to highlight the myths of plastic chemical recycling and call for rejecting it as an acceptable method for environmentally safe disposal of plastic.

Click the video (left) to see recordings of these events.

IPEN Materials

IPEN noted several developments at the 2022 COPs and provided resources for delegates. Some highlights included:

IPEN Quick Views
In a new briefing, IPEN called for a class-based listing of the PFAS chemical, PFHxS.
IPEN released a study with Arnika and other IPEN POs on high levels of POPs found in plastic toys and other plastic products from 11 countries.
IPEN released a briefing calling for strong limits on POPs in waste and noting that safer, non-combustion technologies are available for POPs waste management (see more on Low POPs Content Levels).