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Plastic pollution talks begin in Paris with 175 nations: ‘world’s eyes are on us’
- Aim is to move towards historic agreement covering entire plastics life cycle, against backdrop of annual production being on track to triple within 40 years
- Paris agenda includes ban on single-use plastic items, ‘polluter pays’ schemes and tax on new plastic production
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday warned that global plastics pollution was a “time bomb”, as diplomats began five days of talks in Paris to make progress on a treaty to end plastic waste.
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Representatives of 175 nations with divergent ambitions met at the Unesco headquarters with the aim of making progress towards reaching, by next year, a historic agreement covering the entire plastics life cycle.
As the talks opened, the head of the negotiations, Peruvian diplomat Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velazquez, said the challenge was “immense, as we are all aware here, but it is not insurmountable”.
“The world’s eyes are on us,” he added.
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Bali house built entirely from plastic waste highlights upcycling efforts in Indonesia
Bali house built entirely from plastic waste highlights upcycling efforts in Indonesia
Macron urged participating nations to put an end to today’s “globalised and unsustainable” production model, where richer countries export plastic waste to poorer ones.
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