Global Plastic Treaty
The Global Plastic Treaty is an international legal instrument aimed at addressing plastic pollution, with the core goal of reducing the impact of plastic pollution on the environment and human health. The treaty was proposed in Resolution 5/14 adopted at the Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly in 2022 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
Understand the treaty
The Global Plastic Treaty is an international agreement currently being negotiated by approximately 175 countries with the aim of ending plastic pollution at every stage of the material lifecycle, from manufacturing to disposal.
The treaty aims to help every interested country find ways to reduce and prevent the harm of plastic pollution. Every country can use the Global Plastic Treaty to support plastic reduction efforts that best suit their needs. At the same time, the treaty establishes a standardized global framework that every country can follow, thereby ensuring coordinated and effective emission reduction efforts.
Background and objectives
The establishment of the Global Plastic Treaty stems from the global concern over plastic pollution. Since the birth of plastic in the early 19th century, humans have produced about 8.3 billion tons of plastic, but most of the waste plastic can only be disposed of through incineration and landfill, resulting in a large amount of plastic waste entering the environment, especially the ocean, causing serious damage to the ecological environment.
In addition, the carbon emissions from the production and use of plastics are also staggering, accounting for 3.4% -4.5% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, and are expected to reach 2.8-3.2 billion tons of CO2e by 2050.
Therefore, the core goal of the global plastic treaty is to reduce plastic pollution, especially addressing the impact of plastic on the environment and health.
Main content and impact
The core contents of the global plastic treaty include reducing unsustainable plastic production, promoting the recycling of the plastic industry, establishing rules to eliminate harmful chemicals in plastics, gradually phasing out disposable plastic products, and prohibiting the addition of microplastics to products.
In addition, the treaty advocates the “polluter pays” principle, requiring producers to take responsibility for plastic pollution and ensuring effective implementation of the agreement through extended producer responsibility and improved waste management.
The achievement of this treaty will promote global cooperation, jointly solve the problem of plastic pollution, and protect the earth’s environment.
EU commits to reaching a global plastic pollution agreement by the end of the year
From November 25th to December 1st, the global plastic pollution treaty negotiations were held in Busan, South Korea, and the European Union actively participated in the negotiations on global plastic pollution. The EU has committed to working with G20 partner countries to complete negotiations before the end of the year and strive to reach a legally binding global plastic treaty to address the serious threat of plastic pollution to the environment and human health.
The EU emphasizes that the core content of the global plastic treaty should focus on reducing plastic pollution, especially addressing the impact of plastic on the environment and health. To this end, the EU requires countries to take measures to reduce unsustainable plastic production and promote the recycling of the plastic industry. The EU’s requirements include establishing rules to eliminate harmful chemicals in plastics, gradually phasing out disposable plastic products, prohibiting intentional addition of microplastics in products, and ensuring that all product designs are more environmentally friendly and sustainable. At the same time, the EU advocates the “polluter pays” principle, calling on producers to take responsibility for plastic pollution and supporting the effective implementation of the agreement through extended producer responsibility and improved waste management.
INC-5
The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Global Plastic Treaty (INC-5) will be held at the Busan Convention and Exhibition Center in South Korea from November 25th to December 1st, 2024.
According to Resolution 5/14 adopted by the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2022, INC-5 is the final intergovernmental negotiation and consultation planned in the resolution to develop a legally binding international instrument (ILBI) aimed at ending plastic pollution, including plastic pollution in the marine environment. The international community also has high hopes for the successful completion of the drafting of the “Global Plastic Treaty” document at this conference.
Essential Elements
In order to ensure that this treaty creates well-being for humanity and nature worldwide, WWF has identified four “essential elements” as key elements that countries must firmly commit to at the INC-5 conference. include:
1、 Ban and gradually phase out harmful and problematic high-risk plastic products and chemicals globally;
2、 Establish global product design standards to ensure that all plastics produced can be safely reused and recycled, thus becoming a part of the global non-toxic circular economy;
3、 Adjust capital flows and resource allocation to support countries in achieving fair transformation;
4、 The mechanism to ensure the continuous strengthening of the treaty over time provides guarantees for its future development.
The four essential elements of the English version of the “A Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution Must Haves” can be downloaded from:Click to view.
Basic Measures
Four measures to end the global plastic crisis
The international community must fulfill its commitment to ending the plastic crisis. The upcoming negotiations must be the moment when our leaders decide to take bold and binding global action throughout the entire plastic lifecycle to protect nature and human health, and set our planet on the path to recovery.
The World Wildlife Fund has identified four essential conditions as a starting point, and countries must ensure these conditions in the final negotiations. Each country must prioritize pursuing the following goals:
A.Global ban and phase out of the most harmful plastics and chemicals
B.Develop binding global product design requirements and systems to achieve a non-toxic circular economy
C.Coordinate capital flow and resources to adapt to system changes
D.Mechanisms for strengthening and adjusting measures over time
