An illegal gold miner works with mercury in Nova Olinda, Brazil, 26 November 2021. (Keystone/AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

⛏️Minamata Convention pivots to enforcement, illegal trade control. Countries party to the agreement, which bans commercial use of mercury in a selected number of products, agreed last week in Geneva on a new strategy to clamp down on illicit markets, a growing haven for mercury trade as the legal market shrinks. It also agreed to phase out mercury in tooth fillings by 2034.

🧬US ties global health aid to data sharing on pathogens, undermining WHO talks. The US is seeking bilateral agreements, offering countries US aid for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in exchange for sharing all information about pathogens with pandemic potential within five days of a detected outbreak. Unlike the multilateral scheme currently under negotiation at the WHO, it doesn't require companies to share their benefits, potentially defeating its purpose.

🕊️Is climate-conflict overlap Cop30’s big blindspot? Humanitarians worry that after gaining traction at past climate summits in Baku and Dubai, peace has been dropped from the agenda in Belém and point the finger at the Brazilian presidency, reluctant to highlight climate security and undermine development.

🩺The head of the World Health Organization has a message for Trump. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is appealing to the US president to reconsider his decision to exit the UN organisation.

🚧UN climate talks are built on consensus. That’s part of the problem. Experts describe how an antiquated negotiation process that prevents countries from voting their way out of a deadlock has paralysed global climate action.