Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Another objective is to prevent new POP compounds from entering the
market. All industrial chemicals and pesticides currently in use must be
assessed considering the POP criteria defi ned in the Convention. By banning
the most hazardous compounds and careful examination and restriction of new
compounds, POP compounds can be taken out of natural circulation. Since
this is a global problem, the Convention enjoins industrial nations to
provide technical and fi nancial assistance to developing countries and transi-
tion economies.
The Stockholm POP Convention acknowledges the principle of no-harm,
but it is clear that the issue is the prevention of a global collective problem
rather than a traditional transboundary pollution problem. The introduction
to the Convention therefore also mentions such principles as 'Common but
Differentiated Responsibilities' and 'Polluter Pays'. The Convention even
bases its objective in Article 1 primarily on the precautionary principle 28
refl ecting Rio Declaration Principle 15: 'Where there are threats of serious
or irreversible damage, lack of full scientifi c certainty shall not be used as a
reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental
degradation.'
This is quite a long way from an environmental dispute between two states.
It is practically a global governance system. The LRTAP regime is also a
regional governance system in which a major principle is the precautionary
principle.
In 2009, The UN environmental programme decided to begin negotiations
on the mercury convention. Mercury is a heavy metal and behaves like POP
compounds: it degrades very slowly in the environment, it is transmitted in
the atmosphere and sea currents, and it accumulates in the food chain, also
ending up in the human body; it has signifi cant health and environmental
effects. The text for a global mercury treaty was fi nally adopted on 19 January
2013 after four years of negotiations. The Minamata Convention is scheduled
to be opened for signature in October 2013.
Common concerns: ozone depletion, climate change and loss
of biological diversity
Greenhouse gases, CFC compounds and POP compounds cause global envi-
ronmental damage: depletion of the ozone layer, changes in the climate
system, and air pollution, resulting in damage to the environment and to
health. The POP, ozone and climate regimes regulate truly global environ-
mental problems arising from diffuse pollution around the world and which
are causing harm to all humankind.
The climate system and the ozone layer can only be considered to be sover-
eign islands divided among states in a very abstract way. Most of the atmos-
phere and hence the climate is to some extent included in the sovereign
airspace of states just like the ozone layer in the stratosphere. While the
 
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