In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, delegations from almost 200 countries at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) launched an international agreement on Wednesday to combat the global deluge of plastic waste, which is to be ready for signature in less than two years. It is intended to regulate, in a legally binding manner, the measures to be taken to prevent plastic pollution.
The President of the United Nations Environment Assembly, the Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide, spoke of a day that would go down in the "history books". There is a clear link between the climate crisis and the environmental crisis.
In 2019, according to international estimates, around 460 million tonnes of plastic were produced, of which more than three-quarters have already ended up as waste, meaning they were only used briefly. Currently, only 10% of globally produced plastic is recycled, while 22% ends up in open dumps or is discarded unprotected in the environment, as listed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
ElasmOcean welcomes the fact that active global action is finally being taken against the deluge of plastic, which is severely impacting the oceans and their inhabitants in particular. Whether a truly strong agreement can be expected, or whether there will be hidden loopholes, official exemptions, and delays, remains to be seen. We will continue to follow the issue closely – including through the Deutscher Naturschutzring, of which we are a member.
