On March 2, the resumed session of the Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, adopted the "Resolution on Ending Plastic Pollution (Draft)". The legally binding resolution aims to advance the global fight against plastic pollution.
Heads of state, environment ministers and other representatives from 175 countries approved and signed the resolution, according to information provided to the media by the United Nations Environment Programme after the meeting. The resolution states that an intergovernmental negotiating committee will be established to reach an internationally legally binding agreement by 2024, covering the entire life cycle of plastic products, including their production, design, recycling and disposal.
The UN Environment Programme said the resolution will drive a fundamental shift in how plastic is produced, consumed and managed. "Today we have made history and we should all be proud of it," said the chairman of the assembly, Norway's environment minister, Espen Barthe-Eder.
Statistics from the agency show that world plastic production has soared from 2 million tons in 1950 to 348 million tons in 2017. Ed said that if no immediate action is taken, the harm of plastic pollution will further expand and threaten human existence. "If plastic is included in the circular economy system, plastic can be recycled completely, and it is time to introduce a legally binding resolution to end the plastic pollution crisis."
Inge Annoson, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said that the resolution is the most important international multilateral environmental resolution since the Paris Agreement.
The United Nations Environment Assembly is the highest decision-making mechanism for global environmental issues. Its predecessor was the United Nations Environment Programme Council. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in 2013 to upgrade the council to a United Nations Environment Assembly attended by representatives of member states. The first UN Environment Assembly was held in Nairobi in June 2014.
The first phase of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will be held in February 2021, and the resumed session from February 28 to March 2, 2022 will be the second phase.
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