In what campaigners called “a major first step to stem the tide of plastic waste now flowing from the rich developed countries to developing countries in Africa and Asia,” 187 countries reached a deal Friday to add restrictions on plastics to a key United Nations treaty.
“Ultimately, production of plastics has to be significantly curtailed to effectively resolve the plastic pollution crisis.”
—Von Hernandez, Break Free from Plastic
The Basel Convention, adopted in 1989, is designed to protect human health and the environment by regulating the transportation of hazardous waste across borders. The latest meeting of parties to the convention concluded in Geneva on Friday with news of the finalized agreement.
The new rules (pdf) were met with praise from public health and environmental advocates, who celebrated the unanimously adopted amendment as “an important tool for countries in the Global South to stop the dumping of unwanted plastic waste into their country.”
“It’s only fair that countries should have the right to refuse plastic pollution shipped to their border,” Sirine Rached of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) said in a statement.
— breakfreefromplastic (@brkfreeplastic) May 10, 2019
“For far too long, developed countries like the U.S. and Canada have been exporting their mixed toxic plastic wastes to developing Asian countries claiming it would be recycled in the receiving country,” explained Dr. Sara Brosché of IPEN, a global network of public interest groups. “Much of this contaminated mixed waste cannot be recycled and is instead dumped or burned, or finds its way into the ocean.”
Parties to the Basel Convention hope to curb the mounting plastic pollution crisis with the amendment—which, as IPEN outlined in a statement, focuses on:
Removing or reducing the use of hazardous chemicals in plastics production and at any subsequent stage of their life cycle.
Setting of specific collection targets and obligations for plastics producers to cover the costs of waste management and clean-up.
Preventing and minimizing the generation of plastic waste, including through increasing the durability, reusability, and recyclability of plastic products.
Significant reduction of single-use plastic products.
Although IPEN expressed disappointment that a group of cured resins and fluorinated polymers—some of which release toxic chemicals as they break down—was left out of the requirement of prior informed consent, the Sweden-based organization noted that delegates in Geneva agreed to review the issue when they meet again in two years.
In addition to detailing how the convention could be further amended, advocates of reducing plastic waste also emphasized the need for broader and bolder actions to address the worldwide pollution crisis.
“Pollution from plastic waste, acknowledged as a major environmental problem of global concern has reached epidemic proportions.”
—Rolph Payet, UNEP
Rolph Payet, executive secretary at U.N. Environment (UNEP) for the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions, said Friday that “pollution from plastic waste, acknowledged as a major environmental problem of global concern, has reached epidemic proportions with an estimated 100 million tonnes of plastic now found in the oceans, 80-90 percent of which comes from land-based sources.”
The amendment to the Basel Convention is “crucial” to “compelling source countries to ensure exports of clean, recyclable plastics only,” said Von Hernandez, global coordinator of the Break Free from Plastic movement.
“Recycling will not be enough, however,” he added. “Ultimately, the production of plastics has to be significantly curtailed to effectively resolve the plastic pollution crisis.”
David Azoulay of the Center for International Environmental Law acknowledged Friday that “plastic pollution in general and plastic waste, in particular, remains a major threat to people and the planet”—but he also expressed enthusiasm about the potential for ambitious next steps.
“Today’s decision,” Azoulay said, “demonstrates that countries are finally catching up with the urgency and magnitude of the plastic pollution issue and shows what ambitious international leadership looks like.”
“We would not have smashed our divestment targets without the thousands of local groups who have pressured their representatives to pull out of fossil fuels.”
Ahead of a historic summit in Cape Town this week and the global climate strike planned for Sept. 20, the environmental group 350.org announced Monday that the international movement demanding divestment from fossil fuels and investment in clean energy had secured commitments from more than 1,110 institutions with over $11 trillion in assets.
“What began as a moral call to action by students is now a mainstream financial response to growing climate risk to portfolios, the people, and the planet,” the report explains. “Assets committed to divestment have leaped from $52 billion in 2014 to more than $11 trillion today—a stunning increase of 22,000 percent.”
“Institutions committed to divestment include sovereign wealth funds, banks, global asset managers and insurance companies, cities, pension funds, healthcare organizations, universities, faith groups, and foundations,” according to the report. “The momentum has been driven by a people-powered grassroots movement, ordinary people on every continent pushing their local institutions to take a stand against the fossil fuel industry and for a world powered by 100 percent renewable energy.”
In a joint statement Monday, report co-author Ahmed Mokgopo reiterated the vital role that local pressure has played in securing institutions’ divestment commitments.
“These numbers are strong indicators that people power is winning,” said Mokgopo, an Africa regional divestment campaigner at 350.org. “We would not have smashed our divestment targets without the thousands of local groups who have pressured their representatives to pull out of fossil fuels.”
Mokgopo also expressed excitement about Financing the Future, a global divest-invest summit in Cape Town that kicks off Tuesday with more 300 delegates from 44 countries. “Working together at this summit, the first of its kind in the global south, we will identify the tools we need to change the choices made by financial institutions, and exchange resources that will help us align capital with climate goals,” he said.
“The summit’s location in Cape Town, a hotbed of divestment campaigning during the apartheid era, underscores the parallels between the movement for climate justice and ongoing campaigns for social, racial, and gender justice,” the joint statement said. With the event, organizers aim to build power among divestment campaigners worldwide with a particular focus on the 850 million people who currently lack access to electricity.
Mokgopo was among the slate of speakers—including Amnesty International secretary-general Kumi Naidoo and Clara Vondrich, another report co-author and director of DivestInvest—at a press conference in Cape Town Monday to discuss the report.
Amnesty’s Naidoo emphasized that “the struggle for climate justice is a struggle for fundamental human rights.”
“Every person facing deeper levels of drought, stronger hurricanes, or conflict has been wronged by these fossil fuel companies,” he said. “Their rights to health, water, food, housing, and even life have been harmed, which is why Amnesty International has decided to divest from fossil fuel companies.”
Vondrich of DivestInvest noted that “institutional investors literally have the power to make or break the future” because “money lies behind every decision to expand or contract the fossil fuel industry, to slow or accelerate the clean energy transition.”
“There is no more time for shareholder engagement with the fossil fuel industry that is digging and burning us past climate tipping points of no return,” Vondrich added. “It’s time to divest. What side of history are you on?”
The divestment report and summit come as campaigners calling for bold efforts to battle the climate crisis are planning protests worldwide to coincide with an upcoming United Nations climate summit in New York City. The week of action will begin with a global climate strike on Sept. 20.
ICYMI: Here are the US demands for the Sept 20-27 Global #ClimateStrike
A Greenpeace campaigner said the country ultimately “needs to move towards phasing out all non-essential plastics” for sake of the planet.
Environmental campaigners on Monday welcomed the Canadian government’s new plan to ban certain single-use plastics as early as 2021 and work with provinces and territories to make corporations responsible for their plastic waste.
“Ultimately Canada needs to move towards phasing out all non-essential plastics if we are going to truly reduce the awful plastic legacy we are leaving for future generations of all life on this planet,” Sarah King of Greenpeace Canada said in a statement. “The federal government’s announcements mark the first step in an essential journey to break free from plastic.”
Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter, who also praised the plan in a statement, said that “bans on single-use plastics will help address the growing threat of microplastics in our food, water, and air—the health effects of which are unknown. They also send a powerful signal that the world does not welcome more climate-damaging fracked gas to create plastic.”
Pointing to a Food & Water Watch report released last week that detailed how the petrochemical and other industries help drive fracking for natural gas, Hauter explained that “there is a symbiotic relationship between plastic manufacturing and the fracking industry. Any regulation that curbs one industry will help decrease pollution from the other.”
A statement Monday from the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described widespread plastic pollution as “a global challenge that requires immediate action” and outlined the broad goals of the government’s plan. Across Canada, people throw away more than 3 million tons of plastic waste per year, and about a third of all plastics are single-use items like straws and shopping bags.
“Canadians know first-hand the impacts of plastic pollution, and are tired of seeing their beaches, parks, streets, and shorelines littered with plastic waste,” Trudeau said. “We have a responsibility to work with our partners to reduce plastic pollution, protect the environment, and create jobs and grow our economy. “We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to come.”
Trudeau’s government intends to work with political and business partners throughout the North American country to:
ban harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021 (such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates, and stir sticks) where supported by scientific evidence and warranted, and take other steps to reduce pollution from plastic products and packaging; and
work with provinces and territories to introduce standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging so they become responsible for their plastic waste.
The prime minister spoke about the plan in a speech Monday at the Gault Nature Reserve in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, outside Montreal. CBCreported:
Trudeau said the government will research the question of which items it should ban and follow the model chosen by the European Union, which voted in March to ban plastic items for which market alternatives exist—such as single-use plastic cutlery and plates—and items made of oxo-degradable plastics, such as bags. (Oxo-degradable plastics aren’t really biodegradable; they contain additives that cause the plastic to fragment without breaking down chemically.)
Greenpeace Canada—noting that the government’s statement mentioned a few specific single-use products that may be banned—called for phasing out all “problematic and unnecessary plastics,” including PVC, bags, bottles, straws, utensils, expanded polystyrene, cups and lids, multilayered wrappers, and take-out containers.
“We know the science and real-world evidence is clear that single-use plastics and waste is toxic, infiltrating food chains and even the air we breathe,” said King. “Acting now to ban the most problematic and unnecessary plastics while holding corporations accountable for the waste problem they have created can set us on a better course. But the government must act as quickly as possible so this announcement isn’t a single-use election promise.”
Climate strikes over the last seven days drew over 6.6 million people into the streets around the world, putting the week-long action on par with the 2003 global protest against the U.S.-lead invasion of Iraq.
Friday’s 600,000 strong demonstration in Montreal made the total number of people who took part in the seven days of action “almost certainly the largest demonstration our planet has yet seen about climate change,” said 350.org founder Bill McKibben.
Almost certainly the largest demonstration our planet has yet seen about climate change. (And on a weekday!) Thank you Canada. https://t.co/Njepzx6SyC
From 20th to 27th of September, 1.4 million people took to the streets in Germany, over 1 million in Italy, over 600,000 in Canada, over 500,000 in the United States, 350,000 in Australia and another 350,000 in the United Kingdom, 195,000 in France, 170,000 in New Zealand, 150,000 in Austria, 50,000 in Ireland, 70,000 in Sweden, 42,000 in the Netherlands, 20,000 in Brazil, 21,000 in Finland, 15,000 in Peru, 13,000 in Mexico, 13,000 in India, 10,000 in Denmark, 10,000 in Turkey, 10,000 in Pakistan, 6,000 in Hungary, 5,000 in South Korea, 5,000 in Japan, 5,000 in South Africa, more than 3,500 in Chile, 3,000 in the Pacific, 2,000 in Singapore and much more, since many locations are still striking and the final count is not yet confirmed.
“The week of Global Climate Strikes is on par with the 2003 anti-Iraq war protest as one of the largest coordinated global protests in history,” 350 said.
“We strike because we believe there is no Planet B and that we should do everything in our power to stop this crisis,” Fridays for Future Turkey organizer Atlas Sarrafo?lu said. “Otherwise my dreams of having a happy future will be taken away from me as well as all the other kids all over the world.”
Organizers of the global movement said that they were pleased with the turnout and that the movement wasn’t going anywhere.
“This week was a demonstration of the power of our movement,” said Fridays For Future International. “It was inspiring and historic. People power is more powerful than the people in power.”
“It was the biggest ever climate mobilization, and it’s only the beginning,” the group said. “The momentum is on our side and we are not going anywhere.”
350 executive director May Boeve said that the climate actions would continue until policies improve.
“We will keep fighting until the politicians stop ignoring the science, and the fossil fuel companies are held responsible for their crimes against our future, as they should have been decades ago,” said Boeve.
Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images Originally published by Common Dreams
Entertainment6 years ago
Living8 years ago
Animals6 years ago
Animals6 years ago
Nature6 years ago
Technology7 years ago
Technology8 years ago