Negotiating a global treaty to combat plastic pollution in Paris

Following the tour organized by Uruguay last year, the meeting under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) will host government delegations and representatives from business, academia and civil society at UNESCO headquarters.

Consultations took place the day before and on Saturday, and UNEP and France convened a high-level forum with nearly 50 countries and 40 ministers to address expectations on the negotiations, which respond to a mandate from the UN Environment Assembly to reach the instrument before the end of 2024.

Both Executive Director of the United Nations Specialized Program Inger Andersen and the French Chancellor, Catherine Colonna, pointed to the need to materialize the treaty addressing plastic pollution, a problem they considered urgent because of its impact on the planet and on the planet. human health.

In an interview with Prensa Latina during a meeting with reporters, Colonna called for immediate measures to be taken to deal with this phenomenon, exacerbated by the release of nearly 11 million tons of plastic waste into the oceans each year.

In his opinion, the international community should start with the simplest measures, those that do not require large investments.

There is no need to wait for resources, for example, to limit the use of these products, explained the official, who expressed confidence that a binding agreement and mechanisms to verify compliance will be reached before the end of 2024.

Regarding economic disparities between countries and continents, Colonna realized that solidarity would be important, a topic he said France would promote on June 22-23 at a summit in Paris aimed at building a new international financial agreement.

ing / wmr