The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is taking concrete steps to address plastic pollution, especially in our precious marine environments. UNEA’s resolution 5/14 mandated the creation of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The intergovernmental negotiating committee, initiated in 2022, aims to complete this crucial work by the end of 2024.
This groundbreaking initiative will tackle plastic pollution comprehensively, covering its entire life cycle, and considering the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development’s principles. UNEA’s previous resolutions (1/6, 2/11, 3/7, 4/6, 4/7, and 4/9) underscore the urgency of global cooperation to eliminate plastic pollution’s detrimental effects on ecosystems and human activities.
At the committee’s second session, a Zero Draft of this international instrument was requested for consideration at the third session, incorporating the diverse perspectives gathered during its initial meetings.
