Environment ministers also back global green new deal and green economy initiative to power world to more sustainable crisis-free future
A global crackdown on the poisonous pollutant mercury was agreed by environment ministers at the end of the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Governing Council.
The landmark decision, taken by over 140 countries, sets the stage for the lifting of a major health threat from the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
Governments unanimously decided to launch negotiations on an international mercury treaty to deal with worldwide emissions and discharges of a pollutant that threatens the health of millions, from foetuses and babies to small scale gold miners and their families.
They also agreed that the risk to human health and the environment was so significant that accelerated action under a voluntary Global Mercury Partnership is needed whilst the treaty is being finalised.
The eight - point partnership plan includes:
- Boosting the worldwide capability for nations to safely store stockpiled mercury
- Reducing the supply of mercury from for example primary mining of the heavy metal
- Carrying out awareness raising of the risks alongside projects to cut the use of mercury in artisanal mining where an estimated 10 million miners and their families are exposed
- Reducing mercury in products such as thermometers and high intensity discharge lamps to processes such as some kinds of paper making and plastics production
Achim Steiner, UN Under Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said, "UNEP has, for some seven years, coordinated and contributed to an intense scientific and policy debate on how best to deal with the issue of mercury. Today the world's environment ministers, armed with the full facts and full choices, decided the time for talking was over - the time for action on this pollution is now".
"Only a few weeks ago nations remained divided on how to deal with this major public health threat which touches everyone in every country of the world. Today we are united on the need for a legally binding instrument and immediate action towards a transition to a low-mercury world," he said.
"I believe this will be a major, confidence building boost for not only the chemicals and health agenda but right across the environmental challenges of our time from biodiversity loss to climate change," said Steiner.
Global Green New Deal - Green Economy initiative
He said the mercury decision, alongside a range of other key agreements at the close of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF), sent a clear message to citizens everywhere that the environment was moving back to the centre stage of political life and that a Green Economy is up and running.
"The resounding message is that while the world struggles with the financial and economic crises, the environment must not be side lined," he added.
"Indeed, ministers from North and South here in Nairobi through words and through deeds have signalled that investing in the environment and greening economies is one of the keys to unlocking innovation, job creation, recovery and healthier and more sustainable world, not just on the question of mercury but right across sectors and societies," said Steiner.
This was underlined by a decision by governments to significantly increase the budget of UNEP at a time of financial and economic crisis.
"Ministers of the environment must be ministers for sustained economic success. Creating a green economy goes hand - in - hand with sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals," said Oliver Dulic, Serbia's Minister of the Environment and President of the Governing Council/GMEF.
Dulic said many of the ministers meeting this week now supported the notion that investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency alongside investments in natural or nature based assets such as forests and freshwaters could power economies back to health.
"Moving to a green economy is overwhelmingly recognised as a means to deliver multiple benefits for the international community and all nations in addressing food, energy, water security and climate change," he added.
Ministers agreed that much remained to be done to realise a Green Economy globally and nationally.
But these green shoots of recovery could, with significant additional investment, incentives to scale projects up, setting of the right regulatory framework and improved governance, "tilt the policy playing field towards the green economy".
The ministers also stressed that in order to realise the Green Economy in developing countries support was needed including the greening of overseas development aid, bilateral assistance, capacity building and other financial flows alongside greater access to mechanisms such as the UN climate treaty's Clean Development Mechanism.
Gaza
Environment ministers also backed a decision requesting UNEP to spearhead a mission to Gaza to assess the environmental impacts of recent hostilities and to carry out an economic assessment of the costs of rehabilitating and restoring environmental damage there.
The UNEP team will be deployed "immediately" after a conference in March in Cairo, Egypt, on the reconstruction of Gaza.
Biodiversity and Science
Governments also signalled their determination to rise to the challenge of accelerating biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems and their multi-trillion dollar services from carbon storage by forests to the coastal defence value of coral reefs.
Today they called on UNEP to hold an international meeting in 2009 to examine the pros and cons of establishing an "Intergovernmental science - policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services" alongside an assessment on the scientific gaps in current knowledge.
The UNEP Executive Director will report on the progress at the special session on biodiversity at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in 2010.
International Environmental Governance
Governments also decided that a special group of developed and developing countries ministers or high-level representatives be established to develop a set of options aimed at improving the way the world's environmental architecture is run in order to streamline and boost the ability of the global community to tackle persistent and emerging environmental challenges.
Other decisions include UNEP stepping up its work on waste management and support for Africa on climate change including working with the UN Economic Commission for Africa to establish a climate centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
