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Global Environmental Law and Treaty-Making on Hazardous Substances: The Minamata Convention and Mercury Abatement

Author

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  • Henrik Selin

    (Henrik Selin is an associate professor in the Department of International Relations, Boston University.)

Abstract

In global environmental cooperation, legally binding agreements remain a customary way for states to set common goals and standards. This article analyzes the Minamata Convention on Mercury by addressing three questions: First, how did linkages to earlier agreements shape the negotiations? Second, what were the main legal and political issues during the negotiations? Third, what are the major issues moving forward with treaty implementation and mercury abatement? The analysis shows that the decision to start treaty negotiations was influenced by related policy developments on hazardous chemicals as well as differences in national interests. Five sets of issues dominated the negotiations: 1) supply and trade, 2) products and processes, 3) emissions and releases, 4) artisanal and small-scale gold mining, and 5) resources and compliance. The article concludes that future mercury abatement hinges on the parties' ability to move beyond the initial mandates, as the convention may affect decisions by a wide range of public, private, and civil society actors. © 2014 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Henrik Selin, 2014. "Global Environmental Law and Treaty-Making on Hazardous Substances: The Minamata Convention and Mercury Abatement," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:14:y:2014:i:1:p:1-19
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    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/GLEP_a_00208
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sippl, Kristin, 2020. "Southern Responses to Fair Trade Gold: Cooperation, Complaint, Competition, Supplementation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Sirajuddin, Zulham & Pateda, Sri Manovita & Baruwadi, Mahludin & Tahir, Nur Safitri, 2024. "Mitigating the impact of mercury on rural people by providing scenarios on alternative income through corn farming improvement," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society (AESS), vol. 14(01), January.
    3. Kouame Joseph Arthur Kouame & Yu Feng & Fuxing Jiang & Sitao Zhu, 2015. "Evasion of Children in Ivory Coast Artisanal Mining Activities," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(9), pages 1-24, September.
    4. Bartłomiej Woś & Piotr Gruba & Jarosław Socha & Marcin Pietrzykowski, 2021. "Biomonitoring of Mercury Contamination in Poland Based on Its Concentration in Scots Pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) Foliage," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-12, October.
    5. Tareq K. Al-Awad & Motasem N. Saidan & Brian J. Gareau, 2018. "Halon management and ozone-depleting substances control in Jordan," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 391-408, June.
    6. Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen & Katharina Rietig & Michelle Scobie, 2022. "Agency dynamics of International Environmental Agreements: actors, contexts, and drivers," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 353-372, June.
    7. Samuel Spiegel & Susan Keane & Steve Metcalf & Marcello Veiga, 2015. "Implications of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for informal gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: from global policy debates to grassroots implementation?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 765-785, August.
    8. Spiegel, Samuel J. & Agrawal, Sumali & Mikha, Dino & Vitamerry, Kartie & Le Billon, Philippe & Veiga, Marcello & Konolius, Kulansi & Paul, Bardolf, 2018. "Phasing Out Mercury? Ecological Economics and Indonesia's Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1-11.
    9. Azusa Uji, 2019. "Institutional diffusion for the Minamata Convention on Mercury," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 169-185, April.
    10. Leah C. Stokes & Amanda Giang & Noelle E. Selin, 2016. "Splitting the South: China and India’s Divergence in International Environmental Negotiations," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(4), pages 12-31, November.
    11. Yixian Sun, 2017. "Transnational Public-Private Partnerships as Learning Facilitators: Global Governance of Mercury," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 21-44, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    environmental law; treaty making; hazardous substances; Minamata Convention; mercury abatement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law

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