THE ambitious deadline set by the world's nations in 2022 to establish a meaningful and legally binding Global Plastics Treaty by the end of 2024 is fast approaching. The fifth, and supposedly final, session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) kicks off in Busan, South Korea, on November 25. To civil society groups that have been working hard for a strong treaty, extending negotiations beyond INC-5 is preferable to having a watered-down agreement now.
Technical experts met in Bangkok last month to resolve some of the contentious issues. On this occasion, Break Free from Plastics, an international coalition of civil society organizations campaigning for drastic cuts in plastic production, called a press conference to remind us what is at stake. Failure to address toxicity and other harmful properties of thousands of chemicals found in plastics will "continue to exacerbate the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution," the panelists warned, stressing: "Plastic pollution is a global crisis, fueled by our addiction to single-use plastics."
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