It’s Day 4, and the negotiating sessions are, according to the current schedule, more than half over! What have the negotiators done with all the time so far? They’ve discovered key areas of disagreement, and forged some progress on text in various groups. The plenary sessions are plodding and/or breezing their way through various articles while contact, technical, and drafting groups untangle the details.
The schedule has become fluid, but we expect:
- A sunny day, rather than yesterday’s snow.
- “Under Pressure” on repeat in the plenary before we start the day.
- A late start to the first plenary.
- Updates on progress from the groups dealing with “Selected Technical Articles” (a.k.a. the “Mega-Contact Group”), Emissions and Releases (a.k.a. my personal favorite, led by witty UK delegate John Roberts), Health (a.k.a. “Guess WHO*?”), Technical assistance (a.k.a. “Got Tech?”).
- A polite and sincere urging from Chair Lugris for these groups to continue their “excellent work.”
- The Mega-Contact Group chugging along continuously, tirelessly (and sleeplessly).
- Optimistically: finalizing Article 3, 7, 8, Article 9 (ASGM) and maybe even some work on article 13 (storage and waste).
- A drafting group to continue work on implementation plans.
- A drafting group to tackle treaty text addressing releases to land and water.
- A presentation by BRI-IPEN on mercury hotspots.
- The legal group to continue their helpful work on reviewing some of the draft articles.
- A small contact group called “Friends of Health” to discuss how to integrate wording on health into the treaty.
- Another Swiss Break!
Stay tuned for Mark’s daily wrap-up blog, or follow us on twitter @MITmercury or at #MITmercury to catch all the action.
Interested in particular aspects of the treaty discussions?
An already-outdated snap of the day’s schedule – it’s a fast paced day!
Follow me, @BeckySaari, @NoelleSelin and @leahstokes for coverage on emissions and releases as the delegates try to tackle some text. Our friends are also tweeting away:
- @alicealpert and (@jvanderhoop following technical and financial assistance.
- @Bea_Edwards and @lncz will reflect on products and processes
- @markdstaples and @DanyaRumore are tracking the hot issues of ASGM, supply, waste and trade.
- @wolfeyp and @amandagiang tweeting on institutions and implementation!
*NOTE: WHO = World Health Organization