Global Support for UNEA Plastics Treaty Brings Hope

UNEA 5.2  established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, whose members will draft  an instrument that will include legally binding and voluntary mechanisms to combat plastic production and pollution. The sheer enthusiasm for the first legally binding text about plastic was unbelievably moving. It was a testament to the willpower of the 175 nations that wanted to make a difference in global health and climate change.

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s goal is to have the language ready by 2024, including the following:

• Global objectives to tackle plastic pollution in marine and other environments and its impacts
• Global obligations and measures along the full lifecycle of plastics, including on product design, consumption and waste management
• A mechanism for providing policy-relevant scientific information and assessment
• A mechanism for providing financial support to the treaty implementation
• National and international cooperative measures
• National action plans and reporting towards the prevention, reduction and elimination of plastic pollution
• Treaty implementation progress assessment

The implementation of these measures cannot come soon enough. The most recent IPCC report indicates that even if we end fossil fuel emissions by the end of this decade, we are almost certain to surpass the 1.5C boundary, which refers to the earth’s temperature. We are currently at 1.2C and as temperatures rise, the earth will undergo major climatic changes. We will see more severe natural disasters, extinction of various species, and rising sea levels that encroach on homes, public infrastructure, and farmland. Every action that we take now is a race towards keeping the worst case from happening. Every degree, every moment matters and this plastic treaty matters a lot.

There is a significant amount of talk about future technologies that will help stall, if not reverse, the upward trend of global temperatures. But those solutions do not yet exist at scale, and the ones that are pointed to—such as carbon capture technology in Greenland—have an insignificant impact on annual emissions. What is needed—and what this UNEA resolution represents—is a significant step toward meaningful policy changes that will change our relationship to plastics and consumption, rather than depending on technologies that do not work or don’t yet exist.

It is time we stopped relying solely on industry, which has no real incentive besides the profit motive and changing public opinion, to change the way it operates. The passing of the resolution reflects this sentiment because it will take the entire life cycle of plastics into account. With technological solutions for disposal in the works, attention must turn to the other end of the spectrum: production. The resolution aims to reduce the production of virgin plastics, so companies cannot offset progress by scaling up their manufacturing. This holistic approach closes a major loophole for the plastic industry and opens up a real opportunity for change.

Saying that UNEA 5.2 was a success is an understatement. All 14 resolutions within the treaty are complementary and meant to align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Resolutions for sustainable lake management, animal welfare and protection of their habitats, and reduction of nitrogen waste were made, amongst others. They all have some connection to plastic’s life cycle because plastic infiltrates everything—the air, water, soil, and even our bodies. As the negotiations take place over the next two years, the United Nations Environment Programme will not be sitting idly by. They will hold a preparatory meeting, assist governments and businesses that voluntarily want to reduce their use of single-use plastics, and gather private funding to help promote this shift.

Although the effects of plastics are amplified in certain locations more than others, it is indisputable that the problem is universal and crosses political boundaries. The passing of the plastic treaty shows that it is being taken seriously. We are hitting a threshold of how much plastic we can throw away, because the waste will keep accumulating for decades at the very least. Taking action and holding producers accountable is what we need, and it is exactly what the representatives at UNEA 5.2 delivered.