Global_plastic_pollution_treaty

Global plastic pollution treaty

Global plastic pollution treaty

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UN Member States are currently negotiating a legally-binding, international agreement on plastics that will address the entire life cycle of plastics, from design to production and disposal. On March 2, 2022, UN Member States voted at the resumed fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with the mandate of advancing a legally-binding international agreement on plastics.[1][2][3] The resolution is entitled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument.”

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Timeline

Following UNEA-5.2, The mandate specifies that the INC must begin its work by the end of 2022 with the goal of "completing a draft global legally binding agreement by the end of 2024."[4]

Work towards the treaty began with the meeting of an Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) in Dakar, Senegal from May 30 through June 1, 2022.[5] During that meeting, Member States established a timeline for subsequent meetings through the end of 2024, rules of procedure, and the initial scope of work for the first meeting of the INC.[6]

  • The first meeting of the negotiating committee (INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay from November 28, 2022 through December 2, 2022. The agenda contained items including the formal adoption of the rules of procedure.[7] Over 2,300 delegates from 160 countries participated.[8]
  • The second meeting of the negotiating committee (INC-2) took place in Paris, France from May 29, 2023 through June 2, 2023.[9]
  • The third session (INC-3) is scheduled from November 13-19, 2023 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya[10][11]

Through 2024, several more meetings are planned; Canada and the Republic of Korea have offered to host INC-4 and INC-5. In 2025, the treaty is to be finalized at the conference of the plenipotentiaries, with Ecuador, Peru, Rwanda, and Senegal as potential hosts[12]

Content

Members agreed that the treaty will be international in scope, legally binding, and should address the full life cycle of plastics, including its design, production, and disposal.[4] It has been argued that chemicals contained in plastics such as additives, processing aids, and nonintentionally added substances need to be addressed, too.[13][14]

Support for the treaty

In the lead-up to UNEA-5.2, the majority of UN Member States had expressed their support for advancing a global treaty.[15] Other groups making public declarations about the need for a treaty include the business sector,[16] civil society, Indigenous Peoples, workers, trade unions,[17] waste pickers[18] and scientists.[19]

References

  1. [1]
    Geddie, John (2 March 2022). "'Biggest green deal since Paris': UN agrees plastic treaty roadmap". Reuters.
  2. [2]
    "Plastic pollution: Green light for 'historic' treaty". BBC News. March 2, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Tabuchi, Hiroko (March 2, 2022). "The World Is Awash in Plastic. Nations Plan a Treaty to Fix That". The New York Times.
  4. [4]
    "Historic day in the campaign to beat plastic pollution: Nations commit to develop a legally binding agreement". UN Environment. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  5. [5]
    "Ad hoc open‑ended working group (OEWG) to prepare for the intergovernmental negotiating committee on plastic pollution". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  6. [6]
    UNEA Resolution 5/14 – End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument*
  7. [7]
    "Proposed approach to the work of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) developing an international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. [8]
    IISD Summary report, 26 November – 2 December 2022
  9. [9]
    UNEP Second session of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution
  10. [10]
    "Third Session of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  11. [11]
    "Global Plastics Treaty Chair Releases 'Zero Draft' Ahead of Third Meeting". Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  12. [12]
    IISD Negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty Get Underway
  13. [13]
    Wang, Zhanyun; Praetorius, Antonia (2022-11-22). "Integrating a Chemicals Perspective into the Global Plastic Treaty". Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 9 (12): 1000–1006. Bibcode:2022EnSTL...9.1000W. doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00763. PMC 9753957. PMID 36530847.
  14. [14]
    Simon, Nils; Raubenheimer, Karen; Urho, Niko; Unger, Sebastian; Azoulay, David; Farrelly, Trisia; Sousa, Joao; van Asselt, Harro; Carlini, Giulia; Sekomo, Christian; Schulte, Maro Luisa; Busch, Per-Olof; Wienrich, Nicole; Weiand, Laura (2021-07-02). "A binding global agreement to address the life cycle of plastics". Science. 373 (6550): 43–47. Bibcode:2021Sci...373...43S. doi:10.1126/science.abi9010. PMID 34210873. S2CID 235699747.
  15. [15]
    "Global Plastic Navigator". plasticnavigator.wwf.de. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  16. [16]
    "THE BUSINESS CALL FOR A UN TREATY ON PLASTIC POLLUTION". www.plasticpollutiontreaty.org. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  17. [17]
    "Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Workers and Trade Unions, and Other Organizations - A New Global Treaty On Plastic Pollution". www.plasticstreaty.org. 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  18. [18]
    "The World Is Awash in Plastic. Nations Plan a Treaty to Fix That". www.nytimes.com. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  19. [19]
    "Scientists - A New Global Treaty On Plastic Pollution". A New Global Treaty On Plastic Pollution -. 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
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