At the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in Nairobi in February 2022, Members States adopted a resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. This is seen as the most important international multilateral environmental deal since the Paris climate accord.
The development of the international agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is supported by an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic. The first meeting of the INC is taking place in a hybrid format from 28 November – 2 December 2022 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
The Science and Technology Major Group as representative of the International Science Council, delivered to the INC a statement on the position of the scientific community welcoming the negotiations on a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution in all environmental compartments and stressing the need that treaty negotiations are informed by science.
Stefano Aliani, a member of the Science and Technology Major Group and the chair of SCOR Working Group #153 on Floating Litter and its Oceanic TranSport Analysis and Modelling (FLOTSAM) stated that ‘A coordinated and collaborative global response to these challenges will be fundamental in providing the adequate technical and scientific support for all parties engaged in implementing the negotiated UN treaty on plastic pollution and would offer a significant contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.’
Read more at the ISC blog