OTTAWA – In response to Minister Guilbeault declaring “a cap on plastic production may be too complicated” at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4), Sarah King, Head of Plastics & Oceans at Greenpeace Canada, said: 

“At a time when we need clear leadership from Canada, we are watching Minister Guilbeault publicly waffle back and forth on Canada’s position on reducing plastic production. Questioning the validity of a cap on production is not only out of sync with its High Ambition Coalition membership, it’s out of sync with what the public is demanding, what scientists are calling for and Canada’s own commitments to protect biodiversity and stay within 1.5C. As the host country of the plastics treaty talks, Canada has a job to do and that is to support strong measures across the board, not undermine them.”

ENDS

Notes to editor:

Yesterday, Greenpeace Canada ramped up pressure on UN delegates, by delivering a “Global Plastics Factory” at the doorstep of the Shaw Center, where negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty are taking place. One peaceful activist was arrested while denouncing inaction from global governments and the urgent need for a strong Global Plastics Treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and cut plastic production.

Greenpeace has a delegation representing more than a dozen countries that will be present at INC4 throughout the duration of the talks. Spokespeople are available in English, French, German, Swahili, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa, and Filipino.

Greenpeace Canada’s media briefer about INC-4 is available here.

For more information, please contact:

Laura Bergamo, Head of Media, Greenpeace Canada

[email protected] ; +1 438 928-5237