Time for a global plastics treaty

Today is World Environment Day and this year’s theme is Beat Plastic Pollution. The theme is timely – the planet is facing a plastic waste crisis and a global diplomatic solution is urgent. Fortunately, there’s hope. Last week, representatives from more than 170 nations, including Singapore,

gathered in Paris for key talks.

They made progress towards developing a

legally binding pact on plastic pollution

by 2024. Delegates agreed to create the first iteration of the treaty text ahead of the next round of negotiations in Kenya in November. The exact shape of the final text is unclear. But some, including the European Union, want global targets to reduce plastic production and pollution as well as to reduce and eliminate production and consumption of unnecessary and harmful plastic products.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the final treaty should address the full life cycle of plastics and the design of reusable and recyclable products, and promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics. The aim is not to demonise plastics – they have many valuable uses, from food hygiene to their role in the medical and aerospace sectors. Instead, the world’s immense appetite for single-use plastics has to end, and efforts to capture and reuse plastics must dramatically scale up. Doing so not only reduces plastic pollution, but it also curbs greenhouse gas emissions – plastics are made from fossil fuels.