“The world wants and actually needs a conventional treaty for plastic because the crisis is getting out of hand – and people are honestly furious“Said Inger Andersen, UNEP CEO of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), the UN Agency, who leads the conversations.
“We know that plastic is in our nature, in our oceans and yes, Even in our bodies… What is sure is that no one wants to live with plastic pollution. “
Out of control
Unless an international agreement is colored, plastic production and waste are expected to triple in 2060, causing significant damage – including our health – according to UNEP.
Switzerland’s top environment Official Katrin Schneeberger repeated the invitation to a legally binding treaty that insisted that plastic waste “suffocates our lakes, damages wildlife and threatens human health. This is more than just an environmental question, it is a global challenge that requires urgent and collective action. “
In a speech with journalists on the sidelines of the treaty negotiations, Mrs. Schneeberger emphasized that there was “no call for a production hood” by producing countries.
Compromise Spirit?
“Reaching a common understanding that measures are needed on both production and consumption pages can help unlock the negotiations“She said in her capacity as director of the Swiss federal office for the environment.
Supporters of an agreement have compared it to the Paris climate agreement with regard to its importance. They have also pointed to the pressure that is allegedly brought to an agreement by Petrostates whose crude oil and natural gas give plastic blocks of plastic.
“We will not reuse our way out of the plastic pollution crisis: We need a systemic transformation to achieve the transition to a circular economy“UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen has insisted in previous comments on the need for global rules on plastic.
Virtue circle
With 10 days of negotiations planned about the Treaty in the UN in Geneva, supporters of an accord hope that the agreement will cover the full life cycle of the plastic, from design to production and disposal.
The treaty must “promote plastic circularity and prevent leakage of plastic in the environment” according to the text, which now controls negotiations led by the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC).
On 22 pages, the Inc document contains 32 draft articles that will be discussed line by line. The text is designed to shape the future instrument and operates as a starting point for negotiations from countries that meet in Geneva.
“Some [countries] Must employ. I think there is a lot of good faith in the working group right now. “
The unedited lectures follow a decision in 2022 of the Member States to meet and develop an internationally legally binding instrument to end the plastic pollution crisis, including in the marine environment, within two years.
The scope of the problem is massive, with straw, cups and stirrers, carrier bags and cosmetics containing micropers, only a few of disposable products that end up in our oceans and landfills.
In comments on journalists, Mrs. Andersen remembered touring in Pakistan after deadly flooding killed more than 1,000 people in 2022 and saw that waste and plastic were “a big part of the problem, which is why we are here to find a solution while they do not leave anyone and while ensuring that the financial wheels would continue to turn”.
Deactivation effect
Campaigns gathered on the sidelines of the negotiations expressed their hope for as ambitious a treaty as possible.
They included Shellan Saling from California, the temporary chairman of Youth Plastic Action Network (YPAN). “Plastic affects everything from climate change to health to fertility to even birth defects; it affects physical disabilities as well as invisible disabilities,” she said UN news Monday.
Any treaty in the ink in Geneva must be sufficiently robust to meet the needs of all countries in the world if approach differs in terms of plastic design, production, waste and recycling. It will also have to stand the test of time, Ms. Andersen.
