June 15, 2023: Will the new treaty help in reducing plastic waste? Continue reading to know more.
The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2), concluded today in the French capital on 3rd June, 2023.
More than 1,700 participants in Paris - over 700 Member State delegates from 169 Member States and over 900 observers from NGOs – attended the session, hosted by France at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said" Plastic has been the default option in design for too long. It is time to redesign products to use less plastic, particularly unnecessary and problematic plastics, to redesign product packaging and shipping to use less plastic, to redesign systems and products for reuse and recyclability and to redesign the broader system for justice,” she added. “The INC has the power to deliver this transformation, bringing major opportunities for everyone"
According to UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, the report's critique of recycling missed the report's more general suggestions for reformatting packaging. She said that they are talking about redesigning, and when they speak about redesigning, they mean doing all one can to utilize less plastic, and that is the starting point.
The petrochemical industry, which supports recycling as an alternative to plastic trash, and countries that want to restrict the production of new plastics are in disagreement as talks on a global plastics convention get underway this week in Paris.
Before a summit that will begin on May 5, several nations have argued that "circularity," or maintaining already-produced plastic objects in use as long as possible, should be one of the treaty's goals.
Prior to the Paris negotiations, a 55-nation alliance demanded a robust treaty with restrictions on some dangerous chemicals and prohibitions on hazardous plastic items that are difficult to recycle and frequently end up in the environment.
In order to reduce plastic waste by 80% by 2040, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), who has organized these discussions, has created a plan. Reuse, recycling, and reorienting plastic packaging towards other materials were the three main areas of action listed in the study, which was released earlier this month.
Want to know more about what plans the United Nations has? Want to understand "Circular economy and "Linear Economy"? Click on the link below to read our ReferencePepper:
The report's emphasis on waste management, which some environmental groups perceived as a surrender to the global plastics and petrochemicals sector, drew criticism from these groups.
Therese Karlsson, a science adviser with the International Pollutants Elimination Network, stated that actual solutions to the plastics problem will require worldwide regulation of chemicals in plastics as well as significant reductions in plastic production.
A legally binding treaty was to be reached within a year, according to an ambitious timeline set by nations during the initial phase of negotiations last November in Uruguay. Delegates are still deciding on the fundamental goals of the pact, such as whether to outlaw particular plastics and how to enhance waste management. Important concerns, including how to finance policies, implement policies, and report on policies, are still being worked out by countries.
Numerous nations this week listed "health for all" as one of their top priorities when it came to reducing the production and waste of plastics.
More than 3,000 of the 13,000 chemicals connected to plastic manufacture were classified as harmful in the UNEP assessment. Benzene, among other chemicals, may be released into the environment during the recycling of plastics, according to a report released by Greenpeace that compiles information from scientific research articles.
This week, the U.S. and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) intend to announce a fund to assist developing nations in taking rapid action against plastic pollution.