Plastic pollution: Towards the adoption of an international, legally enforceable instrument
►The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), tasked with drawing up a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, will be held from 29 May to 02 June 2023.
Afrique54.net │ The second session of the INC tasked with drawing up an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is scheduled to take place from 29th May to 02nd June 2023 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. The meeting will be preceded by regional consultations on 28 May 2023 at the same venue.
Participants at the INC
In accordance with resolution 5/14 of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) entitled: ”Ending Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument,” participation in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee should be open to all Member States of the United Nations and members of UN specialized agencies, regional economic integration organizations and relevant stakeholders, in accordance with the applicable rules of the United Nations.
In the same resolution, UNEA requested the Executive Director to facilitate close participation, cooperation and coordination with relevant regional and international instruments and initiatives and all relevant stakeholders within the mandate of the Committee.
Completing negotiations by the end of 2024
In February 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, a landmark resolution (5/14) was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with the ambition of completing negotiations by the end of 2024. The instrument must be based on a global approach that addresses the entire life cycle of plastics.
The rapid increase in plastic pollution levels represents a serious global environmental problem. It has a negative impact on the environmental, social, economic and health dimensions of sustainable development. In a statu quo scenario and in the absence of necessary interventions, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could almost triple, rising from around 9 to 14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to 23 to 37 million tonnes per year by 2040.
© Afrique54.net │ Eugène Messina
