DSG joins ECE staff to celebrate entry into force of new treaty on pollutants Posted: Wednesday, 14 October 2009, Geneva | Author: UNECE
The Deputy Secretary-General was welcomed by H.E. Ambassador Marie-Louise Overvad, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations Office at Geneva, who stressed that Denmark, where the Aarhus Convention was adopted in June 1998, was particularly happy that the Protocol had reached the required number of parties to enter into force ahead of the COP-15 meeting. DSG Migiro said that the Protocol "marks a milestone in the advancement towards environmental democracy." The Protocol "has a potential to play a major role in our concerted efforts to improve the environment and mitigate climate change," Ambassador added. The Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers requires firms to report annually on releases into the environment and transfers off-site of 86 pollutants, including greenhouse gases, dioxins and heavy metals such as mercury. The information will then be placed on a public register accessible through the Internet. Smaller, widespread sources such as traffic, agriculture and small- and medium-sized enterprises will also be captured in the national pollutant registers. Michael Stanley-Jones, Environmental Affairs Officer at UNECE’s Aarhus Convention Secretariat since 2004, stressed that the entry into force of the Protocol marked the culmination of ten years of efforts in developing the framework to collect and publicize the data. |
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Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro joined