On February 20th, 2009, the 25th session of the UNEP Governing Council decided to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury through five sessions of intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) scheduled to convene from 2010 to 2013. The decision symbolized that the mercury problem was formally put on the agenda of global environmental protection.

On March 19th, 2010, as required  by the special meeting of Minister of Environmental Protection, MEP Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) decided to establish the Mercury Working Group to provide technical support for MEP in the mercury convention negotiations and prepare China for its obligations under the convention.

In order to strengthen its role and to better serve international and domestic mercury pollution prevention and control, the Mercury Working Group was renamed Mercury Convention Implementation Division as decided by MEP-FECO in October 2013.