Global Plastics Treaty: What This Means & What You Can Do
The healing of the ozone layer. Stopping the export of toxic waste to the Global South. Ending mercury pollution and poisoning. All of these landmark environmental achievements are the result of internationally binding agreements. Emphasis is on the binding because countries who are signatories are held legally accountable to fulfill their responsibilities as part of an agreement. Now, with one of the most significant environmental issues plaguing the earth, there is a chance to follow the same successful approach through a global plastics treaty.
There are countries making incredible progress in eliminating unnecessary plastics and shifting to a circular economy. However, multinational corporations continue to target growing economies that are now using an increasing amount of plastic in commercial and industrial sectors, as well as expand production and consumption in the Global North. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has revealed that plastics production increased 230-fold from 1950 to 2019, and, “in the absence of bold new policies, the amount of plastic waste produced globally (393 million tonnes in 2019) is on track to almost triple by 2060 – about half will end up in landfills, and less than a fifth recycled.” Plastic is ubiquitous and this material knows no boundaries; plastic microfibers swim unabated in our drinking water, microplastics are now found throughout the human body, oceans and all marine inhabitants continue to absorb 8-14 million tonnes of plastic per year, meanwhile, any plastic burned burdens the atmosphere we all collectively depend on.
Despite the deep hole we have dug ourselves (of course, with a plastic shovel), there is currently no international instrument addressing plastic pollution. Like an icy Canadian lake free of petroleum contamination, it is clear that we need a global plastics treaty and we need it before we escalate deeper into the Pasticene epoch. During the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) from February 28th-March 2nd, 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya, 170 Member States discussed a global agreement to turn the tide on the plastics crisis. They unanimously came to an understanding that plastic pollution is a global priority and agreed to develop a legally-binding plastics treaty to address the whole lifecycle of plastics. As part of establishing an agreement, UNEA instituted a series of negotiations to examine issues caused throughout the life cycle of plastic manufacturing, use, management and disposal. The first of these intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-1) meetings took place in Punta Del Este, Uruguay from November 28th to December 2nd, 2022.
These INC meetings will continue into 2023 and 2024 around the world, including in Canada. These meetings will determine the objectives, scope and structure of a legally binding agreement. This includes how this robust of an agreement will be implemented, which requires capacity building, technical assistance, financial support for some countries, institutional arrangements and stakeholder engagements for a global agreement to work and be effective in so many different national contexts. Unsurprisingly, the petrochemical industry and major fossil fuel industries also joined the negotiations to push for their agenda, which inevitably means retaining the status quo and escalating plastic production. As our friends at Greenpeace observed at INC-1, “now, plastics producers are given the same consideration as communities suffering from their products and scientists are sounding the alarm. Plastics treaty negotiations can not be co-opted by welcoming oil and plastics industry lobbyists to dominate the discussion and weaken ambition.”
While these negotiations for a global plastics treaty are encouraging, the effectiveness of a potential treaty depends on the efficacy of the process. Giving plastics producers authority in the matter, at this point, is unconscionable. We need to ensure that Indigenous, Black, all People of Colour, and the Global South have a strong voice that is heard in these negotiations alongside disabled folks, youth, and frontline communities directly affected by plastic production and waste sites. In addition to this, we cannot keep on the business as usual track - it’s either corporate growth or social-ecological justice, clean oceans and a stable climate. With this in mind, we need a global plastics treaty that:
drastically lowers plastic production and usage;
bans all single-use and unnecessary plastics, including cigarette butt filters;
scales systems for refill and reuse;
creates a low-carbon circular economy for the plastics we do need;
expands extended producer responsibility to make corporations accountable for the full life cycle of the products they manufacture,
Redress environmental racism and injustices caused by plastic production, usage and disposal, and;
mandate that wealthier countries lead the transition to zero plastic waste and support other countries with less financial capacity.
While it is tempting to be assuaged by recent progress, for an truly impactful Global Plastics Treaty, we need to continue working diligently and urging our governments to push for inclusive and equitable engagement as well as bold measures. This means writing to our governments and asking them to push for the measures outlined above during negotiations this year. We can also spread the word about a global plastics treaty throughout our networks, and sign the Greenpeace petition calling for a strong global plastics treaty. You can also become a member of Surfrider Foundation Canada, so we can use your voice in our plastic campaigns that are striving to make Canada a leader in the circular economy movement. Just as we look to the Montreal Protocol of the 1990s as the turning point in healing the ozone, in decades down the road, we want to look back on this time as the turning point for when we began to heal humanity and earth from plastic pollution.