Bid to finalise liability rules for waste shipments fails again

Agreement on a protocol to establish a liability and compensation regime for damage arising from transboundary shipments of hazardous waste proved elusive once again at a negotiating meeting in Geneva from 30 August to 3 September. Fundamental disagreements between developed and developing nations over the need for an international compensation fund and moves by developed nations to set up separate liability arrangements dogged the talks, and will now have to be resolved at a ministerial meeting in December.