Today, negotiations have begun in Geneva to establish a global agreement to address the incredible and growing plastic waste and its impact on human health, marine life and the economy.
Unless the international agreement is in place, plastic pollution is projected to triple by 2060, causing major damage to the planet, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The UNEP-led consultation, following a decision by member states in 2022, will develop internationally legally binding means to end the plastic pollution crisis, including the world’s oceans, within two years.
The growing threat of plastic pollution
The scale of plastic pollution issues is cosmetics including straws, cups, stirrers, carrier bags and microbeads. This is just a small portion of our single-use products that end in our oceans and landfills.
“We don’t recycle ways to get out of the plastic pollution crisis. We need systematic transformation to achieve a transition to a circular economy,” argued Inger Andersen, UNEP’s executive director.
Prior to his speech in Geneva, the medical journal The Lancet issued a warning that materials used in plastics can cause widespread illnesses “at every stage of the plastic life cycle and at every stage of human life.”
Toddlers and young children are particularly vulnerable, according to more than 20 health experts cited in the journal. “Plastics is a serious, growing, unrecognized danger to human and planetary health, responsible for health-related economic losses of over $1.5 trillion per year.”
Proponents of the deal compared it to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement in terms of its importance. They also point to pressures that the crude oil and natural gas industry has been allegedly endured trading by Petrostate, which provides raw materials for plastic production.
Promoting the circular economy
The purpose of this transaction is to encompass the complete life cycle of plastics, from design to production and disposal. It is to “promote plastic circulation and prevent plastic leakage in the environment.”
The INC document contains 32 draft articles, which are explained by line. This text is designed to shape future instruments and serves as a starting point for negotiations.
For 10 days from August 5-14, delegations from 179 countries rely on INC textbooks when meeting in UN Geneva, along with more than 1,900 other participants from 618 observer organizations, including scientists, environmentalists and industry representatives.
The main purpose of the meeting is to share proven ways to reduce plastic use, such as non-plastic alternatives and other safer alternatives.
To follow the plastic pollution talk, please go live on UN Web TV and click here.
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