The need for urgent negotiation of a new global treaty to address the global plastic pollution crisis has emerged as a clear priority for the coming year, now endorsed by a majority of UN Member States and a wide variety of business voices.
The World Evangelical Alliance Sustainability Center (WEASC), along with the global community, is proud to sign the Civil Society Call to Action for a legally binding global treaty that effectively addresses the plastic pollution crisis.
"2022 is a crucial year for global action to mitigate the global plastic pollution crisis. It is of utmost importance that the upcoming UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in early March adopts an ambitious resolution to begin negotiations on a global plastic pollution treaty," said Matthias Boehning, Co-Director of WEASC.
We are calling for a legally binding global instrument on plastic pollution covering measures along the entire life cycle of plastics, including extraction of feedstocks, production, transport, use, disposal, and remediation. Governments should agree to a mandate coming out of UNEA 5.2 to negotiate and adopt such an ambitious new agreement, with specific legally-binding provisions and obligations to prevent and remediate plastic pollution and its toxic impacts.
We ask Member States of the United Nations to quickly negotiate a new legally binding instrument to end the ongoing threat to human, animal, and environmental health from plastics. This process must be predicated on a just and robust system for ensuring stakeholder participation and meaningful implementation at all levels under a human rights-based approach.