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Foundation 10 September 2021

International treaty on plastic pollution? Straight ahead!

Update on the status of the international treaty on plastic pollution

 

As a UN accredited organization and a member of the ad-hoc open-ended expert group on marine litter and microplastics, Race for Water participated to several conferences organized to prepare the fifth United Nation Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) which will take place in February 2022 and where plastic pollution will take a large portion of the discussions.

Plastic pollution has no borders. Today, we know that isolated voluntary commitments are not sufficient. The 2020 report Breaking the Plastic Wave has shown that current government and industry commitments are likely to reduce annual plastic leakage to the ocean by only 7 per cent by 2040. We need more than ever to share a common vision and set clear goals towards this complex crisis by driving a drastic change in the whole plastic life cycle (extraction, production, use, end of life).
 
An increasing number of governments jointly with NGO’s, scientists, industries, and other major groups, including a huge engagement from the youth, are calling for a comprehensive approach to prevent and reduce plastic pollution in all environments (air, soil, and water). The support and help of everyone are required to find a way out of this urgent crisis.
 
We all hope, February 2022 UNEA 5.2 will officialize the road towards a legally binding agreement with the creation of an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee mandated to lead the discussions until the conclusion of the treaty by UNEA 6 in 2024.
 
To learn more about the international treaty and the legislative aspect of plastics, we invite you to watch our webinar: Plastic pollution: Let’s fight it by law!

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