PERC is ecstatic with the news that representatives from 175 nations at the UN Environment Assembly in Kenya have endorsed an historic resolution to end plastic pollution and develop a legally binding treaty by 2024. PERC co-director Trisia Farrelly says “that this is a historic moment that we have been building up to for years. The scope of the mandate is comprehensive and ambitious, and it will allow us to negotiate an effective and comprehensive treaty to end plastic pollution.
The mandate is the first major leap in the right direction, but based on what we have seen at UN Environment Assembly to date, there will still be hard-fought negotiations ahead of us. We will need to continue to push for a final treaty that designs toxic chemicals out of the circular economy; upholds human rights; protects human and ecosystem health; values local and traditional knowledge; requires measurable and timebound targets to be met; and safeguards against false solutions and regrettable substitutes.
The plastic pollution crisis has been recognised as one of the triple threats to our planet alongside climate change and biodiversity loss. The new treaty will need to treat each of these as threat multipliers and ensure that there is plenty of coordination, cooperation, and complementarity among regional and international agreements that cover all three threats.”
Full text of the adopted resolution is here.
Further comment and analysis from Associate Professor Trisia Farrelly was featured on RNZ’s The Panel and can be found at the links below
“UNEA 5.2: Major Step Toward A Comprehensive Plastics Treaty”
“200 groups urge govts in Asia-Pacific to sign global plastics treaty”