It’s the final round for the international negotiations on developing a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty. We’re hoping for a knockout punch against plastic production or at least a cap on overall production worldwide. That significant step would help prevent the ongoing pollution of our planet and the choking of life on land and in our ocean. But it’s clear that the oil and gas companies that supply raw materials for plastic manufacturing are pushing for more plastic production, and some countries that are beholden to the industry are looking to weaken the treaty.
Without the political will, there is a strong possibility that this final round will go poorly for protection of our planet, and the fossil fuel and petrochemical companies will deliver a punch that results in a toothless treaty.
The negotiations will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024 so time is tight, and you can help! This will be the fifth and final meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) since March 2022. At that time, 175 countries voted to adopt an international legally binding instrument to address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.
Since the 1950s, fossil fuel and petrochemical companies have produced approximately 9 billion tons of plastic. All that plastic doesn’t just disappear; it has been resulting in near-permanent contamination of our blue planet home. Recycled? Not really, only about 9% of it. Most of it is accumulating in landfills, leaches into the environment or has been discarded on land and water, with much of it finding its way to the ocean, downstream from everyone and everything.
Currently, the companies behind plastic production are set to nearly triple the amount of plastic by 2050. Not only is the end product highly polluting, but also the production process itself is hugely polluting with manufacturing plastic – made from fossil fuels, including coal, fracked (so-called natural) gas, and oil – currently accounting for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and projected to grow to 20% of global emissions by 2050.
Our climate, our ocean, our planet’s biodiversity, and our human bodies can’t take that. Single use plastic production, in particular, a scourge of modern society, needs to be reined in. Decision makers need to make sure that the production of plastic is significantly decreased and capped to help get our society on a much more sustainable trajectory forward.
Future generations deserve no less!
You can help pressure national leaders to follow through on the historic resolution they agreed to nearly three years ago. Together, we create a better future with a healthy ocean and a stable climate!
Link here for more information about plastics and the treaty process.
Link here to learn more about how you can help make a difference, including contact information to communicate directly with your national leaders!