The second high-level round of negotiations organised by the United Nations on the way to achieving a global treaty against plastic pollution are underway in Paris. The meeting aims to lay the groundwork for the “Zero Draft” of the proposed treaty text, and therefore provides a critical opportunity to engage stakeholder organisations with ministers and delegations on the key elements required to deliver an ambitious and effective treaty that will end plastic pollution.

The High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution which was established following the adoption of UN resolution 5/’14 by the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022 has issued a Joint Ministerial Statement which  reinforces their commitment to ending plastic pollution by 2040 and recognizes the imperative to develop common legally binding obligations and control measures for Parties to the treaty, and to cooperate with stakeholders and other partners to ensure alignment of efforts with the objective and approaches of the treaty, in order to end plastic pollution.

The statement includes calls for:

• binding provisions in the treaty to restrain and reduce the production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels.
• binding provisions in the treaty to eliminate and restrict unnecessary, avoidable, or problematic plastics, as well as the plastic polymers, chemical constituents and plastic products that are of particular concern due to their adverse effects on the environment and human health, taking into account the precautionary principle and considering their impact on circularity.
• binding provisions in the treaty to prevent plastic waste in the first place and if avoidance is not possible, to manage plastic waste in an environmentally sound and safe manner, consistent with other international instruments.
• binding provisions in the treaty to eliminate the release of plastics, including microplastics, to air, water (both inland and marine) and land, and measures to address specific sources of plastic pollution, including but not limited to microplastics intentionally added in products, the release of plastic pellets and loss of fishing gear, building on other international instruments.

To read the full Joint Ministerial Statement from the High Ambition Coalition click here

The EU will call for legally binding provisions to address the production of primary plastics, with a view to making production and consumption sustainable.

EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said:

An international plastics treaty is our chance to stop plastic pollution by introducing global rules throughout the entire plastics life cycle. In the EU, we keep strengthening our legislation to reduce plastic pollution – from new EU-wide rules to reduce packaging to measures on microplastics. We are determined to keep working for ambitious action across the world, as the fight against the pollution, climate and biodiversity crises must involve all of us.

The EU will also propose measures to eliminate and restrict plastic products that are avoidable, replaceable, produce waste or pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. Meanwhile, plastic products that are to remain in the economy should be designed in a more sustainable way, including through increased use of recycled plastics.

To read the EU statement click here

To read the full Joint Ministerial Statement from the High Ambition Coalition click here