The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001.  Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date.  This site is not updated so external links may no longer function.  Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.

Brooks Yeager Head of the United States Delegation to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Negotiations, INC-4 Press Statement Bonn, Germany, March 20, 2000

It is a pleasure to be here today in Bonn. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our hosts, the German government and the UN Environment Program, for their efforts to make this important negotiation possible.

As you know, we are at the beginning of the fourth out of five sessions to conclude a treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). This will be the first global treaty to address in a comprehensive manner the risks to human health and the environment from the production and use of certain hazardous chemicals.

The United States attaches the utmost importance to these negotiations, which put an international spotlight on what has been called a "silent plague" of toxic chemicals.

We are seeking a strong POPs agreement with realistic, implementable provisions that has as its objective to significantly reduce and/or eliminate releases of Persistent Organic Pollutants of global concern.

The U.S. was one of the handful of countries that first proposed a global assessment of the risks of POPs, and we subsequently led the call for a global treaty at the Washington Conference on Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution in 1995.

The U.S. has already taken strong action on all of these pollutants We have eliminated production and use of all nine pesticides, and have taken strong controls on PCBs, as well as on by-products such as dioxins - where we have achieved reductions estimated at well over eighty percent since 1990.

Over the past few years, the United States government has provided over $19 million on POPs- specific projects around the world. We have made this level of commitment because POPs, like other global pollutants, do not respect national or regional boundaries.

The characteristics of POPs present a strong basis for global cooperation over the long term - both in the negotiation of the treaty and in its implementation. It is in the best interest of the world community to work together to eliminate the adverse effects that countries experience as a result of POPs releases into the environment.

These global negotiations are an ambitious undertaking, since they encompass a broad range of measures to address POPs of transboundary concern. We are seeking to address POPs harms ranging from production and use of commercial chemicals, to waste, and by-product releases from many different industrial sources. For many countries, this will be the first time that these substances have been controlled, and the effects are likely to be significant.

A major goal at this meeting in Bonn is to bring developing countries along in a way that ensures broad participation in the agreement and, consequently, meaningful reductions in the amount of pollutants that get into the air and water.

Specifically, the U.S. advocates a ban on production and use of all of the POPs pesticides except DDT.

For DDT, the U.S. proposes limiting production only to World Health Organization (WHO) approved uses for fighting malaria.

For PCBs, we are proposing a ban on production and new uses.

The agreement also calls for measures on by-products such as dioxins. While the U.S. and other countries have done much to reduce their dioxin releases in the last decade, many - if not all - developing countries are just beginning to address this critical issue.

We support a goal of continued minimization because we think it is feasible, and if implemented by all, would make a tremendous difference in global dioxin releases. Elimination would mean, effectively, the elimination of such commonplace sources as fireplaces, wood stoves and crop burning, as well as natural sources such as forest fires which, of course, cannot be totally prevented.

The U.S. supports an approach that would take strong steps to control dioxins, but steps that would be flexible enough to account for large differences among developing countries. We want to ensure that countries from Asia to Africa are part of this agreement.

Finally, a critical part of the agreement will be to marshal resources to help developing countries to effectively implement this agreement. Developing countries have a longer road to travel to reach the objective of this treaty. In countries where national resources are not adequate to control POPs, the U.S. supports using and, as necessary, adapting existing mechanisms -- such as the Global Environment Fund, and other multilateral and bilateral programs -- to assist in POPs implementation. Our goal here at INC-4 is to create the framework for cooperation on this international effort.

I would just note that the United States has already provided UNEP with $3.5 million to begin establishing the needed capacity building measures in the developing world.

The U.S. has taken a position that is at once strong and sensible. We seek a science-based agreement that will have broad participation among both developed and developing countries. A truly global effort, based on goals that are realistic for all, would be a great success. We are committed to that outcome.

[end of document]

|| Chemicals and Hazardous Wastes |
Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs |
U.S. Department of State | Disclaimers ||