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UN plastics treaty talks open in Geneva aiming to finalize treaty text
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Summary
Delegates opened a session in Geneva to finalize and approve the text of a proposed legally binding instrument on plastic pollution; the session is scheduled to continue through Aug. 14 before forwarding a text for adoption at a later diplomatic conference.
Delegates opened the second part of the fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee on an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, in Geneva on Tuesday.
The session, scheduled to continue until Aug. 14, aims to finalize and approve the text of a global plastics treaty and to forward that text for consideration and adoption at a later diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries. The secretary-general said negotiators must seek a "fair deal that tackles the full life cycle of plastics" and supports a shift away from fossil fuels.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told the briefing that plastic pollution is already pervasive "in our oceans, and even in our bodies," warned that plastic leakage to the environment is predicted to grow about 50% by 2040 if current trends continue, and said that agreeing on a treaty text is "the first step" to addressing the problem globally.
In response to a question about whether finalization and approval would happen in Geneva now or later, the secretary-general's office said the intention is to finalize and approve the text at the Geneva session and then forward it for adoption at a subsequent diplomatic conference.
