UN TAKES ‘HISTORIC’ STEP TOWARD GLOBAL TREATY ON PLASTIC TRASH

Thu 03 March 2022:

On Wednesday, the United Nations agreed to begin negotiations on a world-first global treaty on plastic waste, hailed as a watershed moment for the globe.

Nearly 200 countries agreed to form an international committee to discuss and finalize a legally binding plastics convention by 2024 at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi.

As the assembly hall burst in cheers and acclaim, UNEA chair Espen Barthe Eide struck the gavel, which was made from recycled plastic, to declare the resolution carried.

“We are making history today. You should all be proud,” said Eide, who is Norway’s climate and environment minister.

Negotiators have been given a broad and robust mandate to target plastic trash in all its forms.

It addresses not just the bottles, straws and shopping bags floating in rivers and oceans, but invisible microplastics found in the deepest oceans and highest mountains, and within the air, soil and food chain.

‘Historic crossroad’

Supporters described the commitment as the most important environmental decision taken by the UN in years.

“We stand at a crossroad in history when ambitious decisions taken today can prevent plastic pollution from contributing to our planet’s ecosystem collapse,” said Marco Lambertini from WWF.

Also read | Coca-Cola and PepsiCo ranked as world’s leading plastic polluters

The broad treaty framework approved by 193 UN nations, among them major plastic producers like the United States and China, does not spell out specific measures but leaves particulars to negotiations.

But the scope covers pollution “from source to sea”, a key demand of many nations, and could for the first time introduce caps on the production of new plastic from fossil fuels.

Other regulations could require that industry redesign products to make recycling easier and stem the torrent of trash created by single-use items.

Less than 10 percent of plastic is recycled. Most of the 460 million tonnes of plastic produced in 2019 wound up in landfill and oceans.

“This is a clear acknowledgement that the entire life cycle of plastic, from fossil fuel extraction to disposal, creates pollution that is harmful to people and the planet,” said Graham Forbes from Greenpeace.

‘Landmark’ decision

The amount of plastic entering the oceans is forecast to triple by 2040, and governments have been under pressure to unite against the trash “epidemic”.

The rate of plastic production has also grown faster than any other material and is expected to double within two decades without urgent action.

A garbage truck’s worth of plastic is tossed into the sea every minute, according to some estimates.

Sea birds, whales, and other marine species are particularly vulnerable to large bits of plastic. Plastic particles, on the other hand, can enter the food chain at a tiny level, eventually becoming part of the human diet.

To meet the deadline, talks to finalize the treaty are being accelerated, with the first session scheduled for later this year.

Diplomats and environmentalists warned that the treaty’s strength will be determined by the level of political will demonstrated throughout the negotiations.

Setting goals, guaranteeing responsibility, and tracking progress or failure could be stumbling blocks, according to UN Environment Chief Inger Andersen.

Negotiators will need to establish what measures are binding or voluntary, and some countries are pushing for flexibility in setting their own goals through national action plans.

“There will be a number of thorny issues as there always is when we start a negotiation,” said Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme.

Big corporations had expressed support for a binding agreement and negotiators were urged to engage industry players in the process.

Dozens of major businesses had called for a common set of rules around plastic to create a level playing field for competition.

“This is a landmark decision by UN member states,” said Richard Slater, chief research and development officer at British consumer goods group Unilever.

Plastics Europe, a trade association, stated that its products serve an important role in society and that industry is working to improve recycling and invest in solutions.

“The UNEA resolution represents a major step towards the creation of a waste free future which is critical to achieving our collective climate ambitions,” said Markus Steilemann, president of Plastics Europe.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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