Climate experts are optimistic that a global treaty on plastic pollution will be signed at the fifth United Nations Environmental Assembly (Unea 5.2) in Nairobi tomorrow (Wednesday).
The meeting in Gigiri brings together representatives of the 193 member states of the UN, businesses, civil society and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
This year’s conference is likely to foster a legally binding agreement on the end of plastic pollution by governments.
The conference coincides with the launch of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which assesses climate change and its implications.
The two key environmental conferences seek to find solutions to the damaging impact human activities have on the planet and the ripple effect that climate change has on people and the ecosystem.
Delegates representing their countries during the open plenary session of Unea 5.2 spoke with one voice, committing to end the plastic menace by signing the treaty by tomorrow.
The current international policy on plastics is disjointed and uncoordinated, sitting across several different UN conventions.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko underscored Kenya’s stand on the plastic pollution treaty.
“Plastic pollution is the new epidemic ... Let us come out of this Unea with a meaningful resolution on plastics. Our children deserve a better planet. Our children are listening and watching,” he said.
Unea 5.2 president and Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment Espen Barth said the discussions are likely to yield positive feedback.
“The pending final decision is all we are waiting for. Things are looking good and we are very close to an internationally legal agreement to end plastic waste,” he said.
He stressed the need for a circular economy that will ensure countries enforce measures such as recycling of plastics, and also see to the creation of a scientific body that will help in the research of chemicals that have an effect on the environment.
UN Environment Programme (Unep) executive director Inger Andersen said 34 out of more than 50 African states are in support of the plastic pollution treaty.
“It is our responsibility to deliver solutions that will steward and maintain the planet’s sustainability. This is a responsibility that we must all be part of. We are in a crisis and this should bring us together to come up with solutions,” she said.
“We have created a massive problem in plastic pollution by throwing away plastics instead of reusing. This is a moment to roll back that error ... Let’s face it, the plastic we throw ends up as nano plastic and when they go to the ocean, the fish eat it and that we, too, eat fish,” she added.
Apart from plastic pollution, a precursor to the high-level meeting for sustainable oceans, dubbed Road to Lisbon, was a key concern for delegates.
“It is sad that the oceans and their innocence absorb Carbon dioxide because of our human activities leading to its acidification, which affects marine animals.
“We are throwing plastics in oceans, destroying biodiversity and causing global warming. We cannot treat oceans like a global trash can,” said Ms Andersen.
“It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our well-being and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risk,” said Mr Hoesung Lee, chair of the IPCC in a statement.
Working Group II of the IPCC provides possible solutions to climate change, highlighting adaptation as a key tool.
“Our assessment clearly shows that tackling all these different challenges involves everyone –governments, the private sector and the civil society – who work together to prioritise reduction, as well as equity and justice, in decision-making and investment,” said the group’s co-chair Debra Roberts.
Mr Mohamed Adow, director of climate think tank Power Shift Africa, observed: “We all know we are in a climate crisis but this is a wake-up call that we are facing an adaptation crisis too. As a species we are currently failing to adapt to this changing world.”
