Nairobi this week Blue text = a clickable link. To highlight pictures please click them.Through writing this post I want to create interest in and promote conversation about the world plastics pollution conference taking place at present in Nairobi, Kenya – and not just about the conference per se but about the issues. This is the third conference to this end. The first was in Ururgay (November 2022) and the second in France (May 2023). This third step will be followed next year by a fourth in Canada, where the hope is that a final treaty will be achieved. An opening imperative from Kenya's President'“To deal with plastic pollution, humanity must change. We must change the way we consume, the way we produce and how we dispose our waste. This is the reality of our world. Change is inevitable. This treaty, this instrument that we are working on, is the first domino in this change. Let us bring it home. Let the change begin,” Kenyan President William Ruto said at the opening of the session.' President Ruto hasn't counted correctly. This is the third domino. But the rest of what he writes is certainly true. The UN said'The urgency of this effort is underscored by the ongoing global plastic pollution crisis, where approximately 430 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually. 'Around two-thirds of it is just thrown away, harming both the environment and the food chain. Convening for its third session, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) will focus on the so-called zero draft of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, released earlier this year, with the goal of concluding negotiations by the end of 2024.' Serious stuff'According to the Executive Secretary of the International Negotiating Committee (INC) Secretariat Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, the devastating impact of plastic pollution on ecosystems, climate, the economy, and human health, costs the planet between $300 and $600 billion per year.' Plastics production is expected to double in the next 20 years if no action is taken. 'Organizers are demanding a transition from the “throwaway economy” to a “reuse economy”. 'The INC-3 will feature 12 side events addressing various aspects of plastic pollution, including sustainable production and consumption, the shift to a ‘circular plastic’ approach, and more. Officials are underscoring the need to reduce plastic production, eliminate single-use and short-lived plastic products, and switch to non-plastic substitutes.' Towards a textIf there is to be a treaty in 2024, at the proposed fourth step conference, then there has to be a text. As I write on Friday afternoon the 17th, that's what the delegates are talking about. Karen McVeigh writing in The Guardian, 13 November, reports on what the delegates are considering 'The “zero draft” captures many different perspectives from different governments. In the section relating to virgin plastic production, the draft sets out three options for working towards a reduction of primary plastic. The first involves a globally agreed target for reduction, (similar to the Montreal Protocol). The second involves global targets for production reduction, with nationally determined restrictions, similar to the Paris agreement. The third involves nationally determined targets and restrictions.' Which will they accept? I hope for option one. It has teeth. The second, like the IPPC agreement on climate change, has nationally determined targets that are simply escapes holes. The third, has no teeth at all. A worrying projection and a callMcVeigh goes on to note two things – a projection and a hope: Plastic waste is accelerating, projected to almost triple by 2060, with about half ending up in landfill and less than a fifth recycled, according to a 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report. Greenpeace is calling for a reduction of at least 75% of plastic production by 2040, in order to keep greenhouse gas emissions within a 1.5C scenario. A further requestTo reinforce the Greenpeace international call for a 75 per cent plastics reduction, Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand is petitioning the New Zealand government for continued support of the international community to push to a final authoritative treaty in 2024. To sign the petition just click this link: https://greenpeace.nz/global-plastics-treaty-now. HopeI have a lot of hope that all those delegates at Nairobi will work out an effective text these next few days. One that they can all take home and mull over to allow next year a substantial forward looking agreement that will curb what surely we must see as a terrible blight on our earth. □ John McInnes Friday 17 November 2023 ##########
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