Specific exemptions under Article 4 of the Convention have a limited timeframe and expire five years after the date of entry into force of the Convention with respect to that particular chemical, unless an earlier date is indicated by the Party, or the Conference of the Parties grants an extension.
The Conference of the Parties has adopted and revised an open-ended process setting out the timeframe and requirements when a Party wishes to submit a request for an extension of an exemption in the Register. Further information on the procedures to be followed is available here.
The process was used for the first time ahead of the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, following requests from one Party (Republic of Korea) for extension of specific exemptions for:
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds; and
- Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride.
The reports from the Party justifying its continuing need for registration of the exemptions are available here. These were circulated to Parties and observers on 8 May 2024, with a request to submit other available information relevant to the report, as far as possible in English, at least 6 months before the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
The twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-12) will be held in Geneva from 28 April to 9 May 2025. Further information and meeting documents are available here.
Information received from Parties in response to this communication from the Secretariat is available below.