Nairobi, 1 March 2024 – As the 6th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) concludes, Greenpeace renews calls for member states to push for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty and stresses the urgency of ratifying the Global Oceans Treaty.
Amid concern over attempts to limit the mandate of the plastics treaty during the week, Hellen Kahaso Dena, Project Lead of the Pan-Africa Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa, said, “A few countries are attempting to water down the already agreed language on ending plastic pollution by 2040, reducing ambition on all fronts, and denying the link between chemicals and the climate crisis.”
“We strongly urge member states not to undermine the mandate of the Global Plastics Treaty, and show courage and ambition as we continue the negotiations in Ottawa next month,” Dena emphasized.
Plastic pollution significantly contributes to the triple planetary crisis – climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, exacerbating racial, gender, and economic inequalities globally.
Gerance Mutwol, plastics campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, stressed, “The magnitude of the plastics crisis is dire and only an ambitious treaty can turn the tide. We can’t risk having an instrument without teeth. Governments must demand a treaty that keeps oil and gas in the ground and addresses the plastic crisis comprehensively – from extraction to disposal. A treaty that fails to curb runaway plastic production will miss its purpose.”
Going into the 4th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC-4) in Ottawa in April, Greenpeace calls on member states to demonstrate commitment and solidarity in confronting the plastics crisis head-on. The treaty must reduce plastic production by at least 75% by 2040, to ensure that we are staying below 1.5° C for our climate and to protect our health, our rights and our communities.
“Overall, many governments represented at UNEA-6 lacked ambition and were unable or unwilling to repeat commitments made elsewhere, from transitioning away from fossil fuels over joined-up climate and biodiversity action to celebrating the Global Ocean Treaty. It sometimes felt as if we were watching the UN Assembly against, instead of for, the environment,” said An Lambrechts, Greenpeace International Biodiversity Policy Expert.
There were parties who stressed the urgency of the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises including the need to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty.
“A year on from the Treaty being agreed, only two countries have ratified and the 2025 deadline is starting to loom large on the horizon, so governments must accelerate their work to ratify the Treaty, ” concluded Laura Meller, from Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign.[1]
For more information contact:
Ferdinand Omondi, Communication and Story Manager, Greenpeace Africa
Cell: +254 722 505 233
Notes:
[1] Laura Meller is Ocean Policy Advisor with Greenpeace Nordic, working in Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign