The third and final scheduled session of the ad hoc Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG-3) on the Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention is taking place in in Geneva, Switzerland on June 17–21, 2024. IPCP Board Members are in attendance and are providing their daily summaries. Policy briefs and other documents prepared by the IPCP as inputs to the process are available on the IPCP publications page.
Today was, as an established practice from OEWG-1 and OEWG-2, a day of preparatory meetings. The IPCP team, including the IPCP board members Michael Bertram, Miriam Diamond, Rainer Lohmann, Martin Scheringer, and Penny Vlahos and, as a student from ETH Zürich, Matthis Schäfer, first attended the Youth Consultative Meeting held in the morning by the Children and Youth Major Group (CYMG). It was obvious that the CYMG is well prepared for OEWG-3, having contributed to the intersessional work since OEWG-2 and working towards a strong representation of the CY constituency in the negotiations and in the Science-Policy Panel.
In the afternoon, the meeting of all Major Groups and Stakeholders took place. The meeting was opened by Mohamed Abdelraouf and Camilla Alexander-White from the Science & Technology Major Group. The first block of the meeting was an exchange with the OEWG-3 Chair, Gudi Alkemade, and the head of the SPP secretariat, Tessa Goverse. Chair Alkemade summarized key points regarding the overall organization of the OEWG-3 meeting, including a list of the four contact groups foreseen for the week (CG 1: foundational document, CG 2: Work-programme related matters, CG 3: Rules of procedure, financial procedures and conflict of interest, CG 4: Preparations of the intergovernmental meeting that will decide on the establishment of the SPP). She pointed out that a lot of work lies ahead of all attendees and that it will be a demanding week, but also expressed her expectation that by the end of the week an agreed-on proposal for the set-up of the SPP should be on the table. This proposal will then go to an intergovernmental meeting scheduled for early 2025 where the UN member states will formally establish the SPP.
The second block of the meeting was chaired by Raleigh Davies, Business & Industry MG, and Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh, NGO MG. There were three topics each of which was first discussed in three break-out groups and then, after a quick report from all three groups, by all attendees. These topics included (i) the question of how the MGs, representing non-governmental stakeholders, should be represented in the SPP’s Interdisciplinary Expert Committee (IEC). The IEC will be the body that prioritizes topics for assessment by the SPP. (ii) A discussion of the proposal of a Policy Committee that would work together with the IEC on the selection and prioritization of topics for the SPP, and (iii) the Conflict-of-Interest policy of the SPP. The discussions were active and lively; they will form the basis for an intervention to be made on behalf of the MGs in the opening plenary of the OEWG meeting. On topic (i), there was agreement that the MGs should be represented in the IEC and that this goal should also be presented to the delegates by the intervention in the plenary. On topic (ii), there was agreement that the Policy Committee would strongly modify the way in which the SPP works, with too much influence by a committee that would be likely to function as a gatekeeper and would prevent an open consideration of all potentially relevant topics for the SPP’s work. On topic (iii), there was consensus that a strong and broad COI policy will be required, but differences emerged on how to manage COIs.
The last block of the meeting was chaired by Natasha Dokovska, Women MG, and Olga Skaredina, Children & Youth MG. The first part was a presentation by Anna Isabel Becker, ISC3 and S&T MG, on the plans for an SPP Scientific Alliance. This alliance would be intended to facilitate input by all interested scientists globally to the work of the SPP. Anna’s presentation sparked a lively discussion. The second part was opened by an introductory statement by Angeliki Balayannis on the topic of waste and how the enormous problem of the large amounts of highly diverse types of waste created by the global economy could be addressed by the SPP. It was suggested that the problem of waste should be analyzed under each of the five functions of the SPP (horizon scanning, conducting assessments of current issues, providing information and identifying gaps in scientific research, facilitating information sharing with countries, and capacity building).
At the end of the meeting, the logistics of the MG meetings for the coming week were discussed. Overall, it was a day that showed the motivation of many attendees to contribute to a successful accomplishment of the OEWG-3 mission.
IISD coverage:
https://enb.iisd.org/oewg3-science-policy-panel-contribute-sound-management-chemicals-waste-prevent-pollution