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NGOs have called for a 75% reduction in production by 2040. However, oil-producing countries and plastic industry lobbies, also represented at the summit, are arguing in favour of recycling and better waste management
A week-long summit tackling global plastic pollution concluded at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment in Nairobi, Kenya. With over 2,000 delegates in attendance, the talks focused on drafting a treaty to combat the growing plastic problem.
Last year, 175 countries committed to the conclusion of a binding agreement to combat plastic pollution by 2024. The meetings in Nairobi were the third of five sessions set to be completed by next year so that the treaty can be adopted in 2025.However, as the meetings wound up on Sunday, delegates remained divided as to the treaty’s substance.
With plastic pollution everywhere from oceans to mountaintops, and production set to triple by 2060, NGOs say that focusing on plastic reduction and not recycling should be the way forward.
NGOs have called for a 75% reduction in production by 2040. However, oil-producing countries and plastic industry lobbies, also represented at the summit, are arguing in favour of recycling and better waste management.
UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said nations agreed to develop a treaty that dealt with the entire life cycle of plastics — from production at their source, to their design and use, to final disposal. Environment groups attending in Nairobi accused a so-called “low ambition coalition” of largely oil-producing nations including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain of aligning to frustrate the talks.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/will-a-global-treaty-on-plastics-emerge-from-nairobi/
https://trendsnafrica.com/environmentalists-call-for-stringent-action-to-stop-use-of-plastics/
The Nairobi negotiations come just a few weeks before the start of the COP 28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help developing countries cope with the consequences of climate change, following a year marked by devastating weather events.
