The United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Minamata Convention on Mercury: A comparison for the Coal Combustion Sector

This report examines the relationship between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, focusing on emissions from coal combustion. It compares their objectives, legal structures, implementation approaches, and implications for the coal-fired power sector. The document outlines how both conventions aim to reduce harmful emissions, with one addressing greenhouse gases and the other mercury, while relying on different regulatory and technological pathways. It reviews global energy trends, efficiency improvements, emissions control technologies, inventory methods, and financial mechanisms relevant to coal use. The report highlights areas of overlap, potential synergies, and challenges in aligning policies to achieve simultaneous reductions in carbon dioxide and mercury emissions from existing and future power plants.