A global solution to a global problem
Currently, an estimated 9 - 14 million tons of plastic waste ends up in our oceans every year. Plastic waste has been found in all areas of the globe, from the deepest seas to the most remote mountains. It causes major harm to wildlife and ecosystems, but also disrupts the livelihood of millions of people, as well as posing significant risk to human health and the world economy.
Regulation and voluntary measures at a national level have proven ineffective in stopping plastic from polluting and poisoning our planet. In fact, it is only getting worse. In order to effectively and decisively deal with the plastic crisis, the world needs a new set of common rules and regulations that address plastic throughout its entire lifecycle.
© Markus Winkler /WWF Germany
A once-in-a-generaiton opportunity
In March 2022 UN Member States agreed to start negotiating the content of a new legally binding, global instrument to end plastic pollution. This historic decision is a major leap towards plastic free environments for all. The framework is now being negotiated throughout a series of meetings across the globe, and is expected to be adopted by 2025.
The negotiation of a new treaty on plastic pollution provides a unique opportunity to unlock systemic change across the global plastics economy by ensuring states abide by common, high-impact measures and holding them accountable if they fail to do so.
The first Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee meeting, INC-1, took place in December 2022 in Uruguay. It showed a promising start to the negotiations with 145 countries backing calls for binding global rules and standards.
The crucial next phase
The second negotiation meeting, INC-2, will take place in Paris, France between 29th May and 2nd June2023. This meeting will be a pivotal moment in addressing plastic pollution, and protecting our planet through an ambitious treaty.
In Paris, procedural questions will be landed, and the meeting will provide crucial guidance for the content of the first treaty draft. It is expected that the Chair of the negotiations, supported by the INC secretariat, will be tasked with preparing this draft before INC-3 in Kenya in November. With so much at stake, WWF will contribute to this process by participating in these negotiations and in the global effort to combat plastic pollution. The INC-2 meeting represents a critical step forward in our shared mission to create a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Due to the unique and critical nature of the treaty, WWF is calling on all stakeholders to ensure that we act decisively. Government negotiators must:
1) Propose binding global measures to ban, reduce, safely circulate and manage specific high-risk plastics2) Prioritize plastics with high pollution risks, including product groups, applications, chemicals and polymers of concern
3) Specify high-risk plastics suitable for immediate global bans and phase-outs, in particular single-use, short-lived plastic products such as single-use cutlery, plates, cups, cotton bud sticks and cigarette filters
4) Call for effective implementation measures, including technical and financial assistance, technology transfers and capacity strengthening; paying special attention to the needs of least developed countries and small island developing states;
5) Order the preparation and publication of the treaty’s first draft (“zero draft”), that includes these specific proposals, before INC-3.
EU member states commit at ministerial level to work for a new global agreement against plastic litter.