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A man transports bags of recyclables to be sold at the dump in Nairobi’s Dandora Slum in December 2018. Ben Curtis/AP
This story was first published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
These are the world’s top leadersIn what many called a historic moment, 173 countries’ representatives and environment ministers have agreed to create a legally binding plastics treaty.
The resolution, agreed at the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, calls for a treaty covering the “full lifecycle” of plastics from production to disposal, to be negotiated over the next two years. It was described by UN Environment Programme (UNEP), as the “full lifecycle” of plastics from production to disposal. most important multilateral environmental deal since the Paris climate accord in 2015.
7.8 billion of the 9.2 billion metric tonnes of plastics manufactured between 1950 and 2017 is now considered waste. Around 75 percent of this waste ends up in landfills, while the other 75 percent end accumulates in ecosystems and terrestrial environments.
“Against the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, the UN environment assembly shows multilateral cooperation at its best,” said Espen Barth Eide, the president of UNEA-5 and Norway’s minister for climate and the environment. “Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. With today’s resolution we are officially on track for a cure.”
Inger Andersen, the director of the UN Environment Programme, tweeted: “We have just gaveled the resolution paving the way for global action to #BeatPlasticPollution. The most important environmental deal since the Paris accord.”
“The work starts now!” she added.
Andersen described the agreement as a “triumph by planet Earth over Plastics that are single-use” but warned that the mandate did not grant stakeholders a “two-year pause.”
“In parallel to negotiations over an international binding agreement, UNEP will work with any willing government and business across the value chain to shift away from single-use plastics, as well as to mobilize private finance and remove barriers to investments in research and in a new circular economy,” Andersen said.
UN nations met in Nairobi this week for talks to discuss the terms of a treaty. They decided that it should be applicable to plastic production and design. A resolution created an intergovernmental negotiation committee that will be responsible for drafting and ratifying this treaty. It will begin work in this year and aim to complete the task by 2024.
The resolution includes provisions for recognition Pickers for waste, a “groundbreaking development” that would affect millions of people, according to NGOs, and the acknowledgment of the role of indigenous peoples. This is the first environmental resolution to recognize waste pickers, low-paid workers who collect recyclable plastic from developing nations.
NGOs described the resolution as a critical shift in international policymakers’ approach, which previously focused on plastic as a marine litter issue. The mandate recommends that measures be taken to reduce plastic production. This is almost the expectation. By 2050, quadruple and take up 10-13 percent of the global Carbon Budget. They urged world leaders not to lose heart in finalizing the details of this treaty in the next two years.
“We stand at a crossroads in history when ambitious decisions taken today can prevent plastic pollution from contributing to our planet’s ecosystem collapse,” Marco Lambertini, director-general of WWF International.
“But our work is far from over—world leaders must now show even more resolve in developing and implementing a treaty which addresses our current plastic pollution crisis and enables an effective transition to a circular economy for plastic.”
Christina Dixon, the deputy ocean campaign lead at the Environmental Investigation Agency, said: “This resolution finally recognizes that we cannot begin to address plastics in our ocean and on land without intervening at source.”
“Fundamentally, the plastics tap must be turned off if we are serious about tackling the problem,” she said.
Dixon said the world was at the “start of a journey” towards securing a legally binding treaty.
Niven Reddy, the Africa coordinator at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, said: “This milestone could not have happened without a global movement pushing decision-makers every step of the way.”
Joanne Green is a senior policy associate at Tearfund.: “Today marks the first step towards justice for communities impacted by the burning and dumping of plastic waste. The recognition of waste pickers and the vital role they play in stopping plastic pollution is long overdue; governments must now ensure that they are given a prominent seat at the negotiating table.”
The treaty will be supported by technical and financial support, including a scientific advisory body and the possibility for a dedicated global fund.
The three-day conference was concluded when the resolution was adopted. UNEA-5.2 meeting, attended by more than 3,400 delegates in person and 1,500 online participants from 175 UN member states, including 79 ministers and 17 high-level officials.
Plastic pollution is a growing concern in the public. More than 60 countries already have implemented bans and levies on plastic packaging and single-use waste, aimed at reducing use and improving waste management.
Plastic consumption is declining in developed countries. 2.5 times higherAccording to Planet Tracker, per capita is higher in developing countries than it is in developed countries.
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