From February 28 to March 4, 2022, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 5.2 will convene. UNEA 5.2 coincides with the 10th anniversary of its creation and the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme. UN Member States are expected to adopt a decision to start negotiations on a new treaty on plastic pollution. More than three-fourths of the UN membership publicly support the development of a new global agreement along with more than 2.1 million individuals, 25 financial institutions, and more than 60 companies globally.
WWF-Philippines is one with the Philippines and other UN countries’ plan to push for this global treaty. The Philippines is a co-sponsor of the Peru and Rwanda Resolution which proposes that UNEA establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with a mandate to prepare a new legally binding global agreement that would form part of international law.
WWF believes that the creation of a new treaty on plastic pollution will benefit not only the environment but also the businesses involved in the cycle, by mainly standardizing compliance. WWF has long been conducting research and forwarding policies that could curb plastic pollution worldwide.
Here in the Philippines, WWF-Philippines has been involved in several initiatives to curb plastic pollution:
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- It recently conducted its solid waste management baseline study in Philippine ports.
- It is pushing for the implementation of the Extended Producers Responsibility Scheme (EPR) which seeks to oblige businesses to redesign their product packaging and eliminate unnecessary plastics
- It is also working closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and climate and environmental consultancy group Parabukas to discuss the needs and wants of the Philippines for a global treaty.
The groups agreed to support the enhancement of various local cities’ zero waste programs, which when implemented on a national level can be improved by a global treaty. Availability and investment into reusable alternative and reuse systems must also be taken into consideration.
During the Q&A portion of the forum, I asked the panel if they anticipated resistance from the participating UN countries considering the difficulty we already saw with them agreeing to a threshold of fossil fuel use that would reduce greenhouse gases to a point where the planet’s warming will not result in eventual devastation. The panelists agreed that they did expect resistance from some member countries but that there was a need to keep pushing for this global treaty to happen.
Several things can be done to ensure a successful global treaty and this involves joining a global movement for an ambitious, international, legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.
WWF encourages:
1. All States – to co-sponsor the Draft Resolution, proposed by Peru and Rwanda and currently co-sponsored by more than 50 States, to establish an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) with a mandate to negotiate a legally binding global agreement to address plastic pollution. https://mailchi.mp/wwf/unea5-plastic-pollution-resolution-co-sponsorship
2. Businesses – to join the Business Call for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution together with more than 25 financial institutions and over 60 companies globally. https://www.plasticpollutiontreaty.org/
3. Civil society organizations – to join 700+ civil society, indigenous peoples, workers and trade unions, youth, women’s organizations to urge UN Member States to negotiate a global, legally binding agreement to address the plastics crisis. https://www.plasticstreaty.org/
4. All global citizens – to join us in this global movement by signing WWF’s petition. https://go.panda.org/plastics/
5. All stakeholders – to follow the most updated news on a new treaty on plastic pollution via WWF’s No Plastic in Nature newsletter. https://panda.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=cbce78f304ec1201122f50358&id=eaa2efdc0e
Lastly, everyone is enjoined to sign the WWF Plastics petition and to refer to the Global Plastic Navigator to keep track of different countries’ positions on this global treaty.