Let’s Celebrate UNEP’s 50th Anniversary with a Treaty on Plastic Pollution
By Carmen Arias
The resumed session of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) are taking place online and in Nairobi, Kenya between February 28 and March 2. On this occasion, global leaders will have the opportunity to adopt a political declaration that expresses their concern about the devastating impacts of COVID-19. Furthermore, they can also use the declaration to raise awareness about the risks of future pandemics and other health threats if the “One Health” approach is not taken seriously and if significant changes are not made to current patterns in our interactions with nature. In other words, society’s health will be impacted if the dichotomy between humans and nature cannot be overcome and replaced with sustainable methods of production and consumption.
Among the most important resolutions that are expected to be adopted at UNEA 5.2 is the resolution (or resolutions) on plastic pollution. Thus far, there are three projects on this topic. This is reflective of both the urgent need to globally address this matter and the divergence in current approaches. These approaches differ based on scope (such as whether the focus should be limited to marine plastic pollution or be more expansive) and the attributions of the intergovernmental committee that would negotiate a final treaty. India has proposed a third text also on the table. While the international community awaits a legally binding document on plastics, this proposal focuses on national measures required to tackle plastic pollution.
Addressing plastic pollution is undoubtably an environmental issue. However, it is also intrinsically connected to all aspects of sustainable development. It is particularly relevant to Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.8, which establishes a 2030 target for ensuring that people everywhere are well informed to adopt both sustainable development practices and lifestyles that are harmonious with nature.
A recent UN Environment Programme (UNEP) publication indicated the urgency of taking decisive action to combat plastic pollution. The report found that without major interventions, between 23 and 37 million metric tons of plastic waste per year could enter the oceans by 2040. Additionally, between 155 and 265 million metric tons of plastic per year could end up being discharged into the environment.
It is now clearly understood that the time to address this situation has arrived, and an international legal framework is necessary. Such an international framework needs to improve plastic pollution governance, avoid the fragmentation and duplication of efforts, and ensure developing countries can obtain adequate means for implementing changes.
The international community has expressed its will to embark on the process of negotiating a new international instrument that will address the impact of plastic pollution. Moreover, this new instrument will consider addressing the entire life cycle of plastic by including microplastics. These intentions were stated in the September 2021 Declaration on the Ministerial Conference on Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution, and also in bilateral announcements such as the one made by the U.S. and France on February 11, 2021. Both statements recognized the need for an agreement that includes both binding and non-binding commitments. In addition to this, they called on other countries to develop and implement “ambitious national action plans.” The negotiation of an agreement on plastic pollution transcends the environmental agenda, encompasses different aspects of sustainable development, and will contribute to the realization of human rights by addressing environmental injustices such as the ones highlighted by UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights Marcos Orellana in his recent report.
By achieving bold outcomes in Nairobi, the UNEA 5.2 could represent the kickoff of developing a new international instrument for enhancing governance over plastic and overcoming an environmental crisis that directly impacts the sustainability of our planet. As UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Anderson recalled in her statement during a UNEA preparatory meeting, it is a chance “to demonstrate the solidarity and vision that a divided world so desperately needs.” This would be a good way to celebrate UNEP’s 50th birthday and reaffirm its mandate as a leading global environmental authority that sets the international agenda and contributes to the creation of environmental law.
Carmen Arias, GMAP '21, is a lawyer and Peruvian diplomat.
Photo is by UNEP and is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
