World leaders of 100 nations to meet for historic plastics treaty, ‘big moment’ says UN
- More than 100 nations will hammer out a framework for a legally binding treaty; the most ambitious environmental pact since the 2015 Paris Agreement
- Major plastic producers, such as the US and China, have expressed general support for a treaty, but stopped short of endorsing any specific measures
More than 100 nations convening in Nairobi next week are expected to take the first steps toward establishing a historic global treaty to tackle the plastic crisis afflicting the planet.
Plastic has been found in Arctic sea ice, the bellies of whales and Earth’s atmosphere, and governments have been under increasing pressure to unite in action against the global scourge.
“This is a big moment. This is one for the history books,” Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said.
The exact scope of the treaty remains to be defined. There are competing proposals being drafted ahead of a three-day UN environment summit starting Monday in Nairobi.
World leaders and environment ministers meeting in-person and virtually are expected to kick-start the treaty process by appointing a negotiating committee to finalise the policy details over the next two years.