INC- 5-2 in Geneva ends without an effective global plastics treaty

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱.... 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱..... 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱..... 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁.....

Some of the reactions after - Three years of negotiations. Two intense weeks in Geneva. Twenty-four hours without sleep. And still — no effective global treaty to stop plastic pollution.

The disappointment is real, but hope springs eternal! The last two weeks revealed positives and learnings that will hopefully carry us forward towards an ambitious, legally binding UN Plastics Treaty:

𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The coalition of ambitious countries refused to accept a watered-down text that would have no real impact.

𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Delegations clearly heard the strong messages from Business For A Plastics Treaty on the economic benefits of globally harmonised regulations.

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: The Lancet Group Countdown on Health and Plastics confirmed plastics are “a grave, growing, and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health” (https://lnkd.in/eKGP7y77). This will strengthen public opinion — and public opinion drives political will to take action.

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀: The Minderoo Foundation, led by Prof. Sarah Dunlop, launched the PlasticHealthAware Dashboard, showing "Evidence on plastic chemicals shows previously invisible, unrecognized harms to human health - Children are especially vulnerable.". This will inform public and political debate.

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: ARTE’s new excellent "Homo Plasticus" documentary (https://lnkd.in/eSUQv7r5) showed the all-pervasive nature of microplastics, scientific evidence of their health risks, and the fact that paint is one of the largest sources.

The question now is how we secure the treaty the majority of delegations clearly want — whether through INC-5.3, INC-6, or "new paths", whatever they are!

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻: We must keep pushing for a strong, enforceable, and truly effective global agreement to end plastic pollution. Anything less is a betrayal of the planet and future generations.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗡𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲.

Follow this link to read the Business Coalition's Statement on the outcome of INC-5.2 in Geneva - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7362021613661319169/

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