“We need a robust plastic treaty that protects people and the planet”

On 15th of Aug in Geneva, negotiators could not agree on key provisions essential to protecting the environment and human health, including effective obligations to reach sustainable levels of plastic production, address health, and account for impacts across the full life cycle of plastics. The committee has now agreed to extend the negotiations into yet another meeting session with dates and location still to be determined.

While a small group of countries actively denied the scientific evidence, the Scientists’ Coalition for an effective plastic treaty was encouraged by the overwhelming majority who engaged constructively with it. The scientists in the Scientists’ Coalition wish to thank them for their hard work and courage, and remain committed to providing robust, independent science to support the next steps in the negotiations.

“Even though the outcome of INC-5.2 are disappointing, it is much better to not have a treaty, than having the treaty the way it was being proposed. It was extremely weak, mostly based on voluntary measures. No plastics production, or chemicals considerations were captured in the text. The science is clear, and while the majority of countries accept it and support it, looking for a robust treaty that protects the people and the planet, some countries acted to deflect and obstruct any kind of robustness, making the urgently needed action impossible”, says Patricia Villarrubia Gómez, PhD candidate at Stockholm Resilience Centre and member of the Scientists’ Coalition for an effective plastic treaty.

Here you can read the statement after INC-5.2 created by the Scientists Coalition.

Read more about the global plastic treaty:
Finalizing a global plastic treaty must be guided by independent science

See Patricia Villarrubia Gómez talking about plastics on TED Talk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_villarrubia_gomez_the_problem_with_plastics_and_how_they_re_changing_the_environment?language=en