Historic agreement to end plastic pollution adopted in Kenya

KIGALI, Rwanda

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) endorsed a “landmark” resolution Wednesday in the Kenyan capital to end the plastic menace posing a threat to the health of ecosystems around the world.

Heads of state, ministers of environment and other representatives from 175 nations held a weeks-long meeting in Nairobi and agreed on what is described as the most significant green deal since the 2015 Paris climate accord.

The resolution, based on three initial draft resolutions from various nations, establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which will begin work in 2022 to complete a global legally binding treaty by the end of 2024.

“Against the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, the UN Environment Assembly shows multilateral cooperation at its best,” the president of UNEA-5 and Norway’s Climate and the Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

“Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. With today’s resolution we are officially on track for a cure.”

The agreement would address the full lifecycle of plastics, design of reusable and recyclable products and materials and the need for enhanced international collaboration to facilitate access to technology, capacity building and scientific and technical cooperation.

Plastic production soared from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million in 2017 and it is expected to double in capacity by 2040, according to the UN.

Eleven million tonnes of plastic waste flow annually into oceans and it may triple by 2040.

“Today marks a triumph by planet Earth over single-use plastics. This is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord. It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it,” said Executive Director of UNEP Inger Andersen.

The resolution, which was co-authored by Rwanda and Peru, sets out ambitious plans to address what is a truly global issue.

“The world has come together to act against plastic pollution -- a serious threat to our planet. International partnerships will be crucial in tackling a problem that affects all of us, and the progress made at UNEA reflects this spirit of collaboration,” said Rwanda's Environment Minister Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya.

“We look forward to working with the INC and are optimistic about the opportunity to create a legally binding treaty as a framework for national ambition-setting, monitoring, investment, and knowledge transfer to end plastic pollution,” she said.

A shift to a circular economy can reduce the volume of plastics entering oceans by more than 80% by 2040; reduce virgin plastic production by 55%; save governments $70 billion by 2040; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%; and create 700,000 additional jobs – mainly in the global south, according to the UN.