UN agrees to create global treaty on plastic trash in ‘biggest green deal since Paris accords’
- The legally binding pact, due to be finalised by 2024, will seek to rein in soaring plastic pollution
- The agreement will have a significant impact on the economies of major plastic-producing countries, including the US, China, India and Japan
The United Nations approved a landmark agreement to create the world’s first ever global plastic pollution treaty on Wednesday, describing it as the most significant environmental deal since the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Member states held talks for more than a week in Nairobi to agree on the outline of a pact to rein in soaring plastic pollution, an environmental crisis that extends from ocean trenches to mountain tops.
Government officials cheered and punched the air after the adoption of a resolution to create a legally binding plastic pollution treaty, which is due to be finalised by 2024.
“We’re making history today and you should all be proud,” said Espen Barth Eide, President of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA). “Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. With today’s resolution we are officially on track for a cure.”
The resolution, which UNEA calls “the most significant environmental deal since the Paris accord”, is written in broad strokes and an intergovernmental committee is now tasked with negotiating a binding treaty that will have ripple effects on businesses and economies around the world.
