COP-5 on Mercury: Africans call for a ban on energy-saving light bulbs by 2025
Bureau of the plenary meeting © photo official website of the Minamata Convention
The Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-5) is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from Monday 30 October to Friday 03 November 2023. For this 10th anniversary, the African continent's position is that dental amalgams, cosmetic products and fluorescent lighting containing mercury must be totally eliminated.
Energy-saving light bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps contain mercury
For the Africa region, stopping the installation of fluorescent lamps in offices and homes, and banning their manufacture, import and export is the best way to eliminate mercury pollution. It therefore recommends that all linear fluorescent lamps be phased out by 2025 at the latest. Experts are unanimous on the fact that mercury-free LED solutions that can replace compact fluorescent lamps with non-integrated ballasts are available on lighting markets all over the world. In accordance with the provisions of Article 26, Africa is proposing phase-out dates for certain types of (fluorescent) lamps. The expert group points out that the collection and treatment of fluorescent lamp waste is already a thorny issue for countries in the region. The proposed amendment also concerns the elimination of mercury-based skin lightening products and dental amalgams.
Cop-5 plenary session © photo official website of the Minamata Convention
In view of the negative impacts caused by mercury on human health and the environment, each country party to the Minamata Convention is required to draw up action plans to reduce the use of mercury in different sectors of activity.
Since 2019, Cameroon has been working on a draft regulation to completely eliminate the manufacture, import and use of dental amalgams, and since 2021 it has been developing its National Action Plan to reduce or even eliminate of mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
About the Minamata Convention
Ten years ago, representatives from around the world came together to recognise the urgent need to combat mercury pollution. It is a toxic threat that knows no borders and can have devastating consequences for our planet and its inhabitants.
Members of the Cop-5 Coordination Bureau © photo official website of the Minamata Convention
These are the opening words of the President of COP-5 of the Minamata Convention, Claudia-Sorina Dumitru, who declared at the opening of the conference that "in the spirit of the Minamata Convention and in recognition of the remarkable progress made by this still young Multilateral Environmental Agreement, I am convinced that you will all be able to reach a constructive compromise during the negotiations". She hopes that the work will include an assessment of the effectiveness of the Convention, the adoption of directives on mercury discharges and the establishment of specific thresholds for waste contaminated by mercury or mercury compounds. Also on the agenda is the need to implement artisanal and small-scale projects, national action plans for gold mining while engaging with indigenous peoples, and the revision of the Convention's financial mechanism to continue to support developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to implement the Convention. The work will continue until Friday 03 November 2023.
