THE UN Environmental Assembly met for their fifth session (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi, Kenya, recently to discuss the most important environmental pact since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
Many of the world’s environmental leaders attended to draft a blueprint for a global plastics treaty that will address the issue of marine litter and plastic pollution in the environment.
Given the environmental challenges faced as a consequence of plastic pollution, South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) indicated that Government will give its support to the establishment of an Inter-Governmental Negotiating Committee (INC) under UNEA to negotiate an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
Plastics SA Executive Director Anton Hanekom says they share the vision, passion and driving ambition to prevent leakage of plastic into the environment and achieve universal access to waste collection.
“We fully acknowledge and support the urgency to address the issue of plastic waste in the environment and marine plastic debris. However, we do not believe that this will be successfully achieved by regulating plastic products or production. Plastics can play a valuable and important role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) provided that they are responsibly and sustainably produced, used, and recovered in a circular economy,” Hanekom says.
The Resolution proposed addressing plastic pollution through the following provisions:
- Establishing as necessary targets, definitions, methodologies, formats and obligations
- Addressing product design and use, including compounds, additives and harmful substances, as well as intentionally added microplastics;
- Promoting national action plans to prevent, reduce and remediate plastic pollution – tailored to local and national circumstances and the characteristics of specific sectors
- Increasing knowledge through awareness-raising and information exchange on best practices to prevent plastic pollution and promote behavioural change;
- Monitoring and reporting on national and international progress on implementation of the agreement;
- Providing scientific and socio-economic assessments and monitoring and reporting on plastic pollution in the environment;
- Cooperating and coordinating with relevant regional and international conventions, instruments and organisations;
- Specifying financial and technical arrangements as well as technology transfer assistance to support the implementation of the convention
- Addressing implementation and compliance issues;
- Promoting research and development into innovative solutions.
