The High Ambition Coalition, co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda, brings together like-minded countries, advocating ambitious goals for the new legally binding instrument to tackle the growing amount of plastic waste choking our planet. The negotiations on the new treaty are starting in Uruguay on 28 November 2022 and are set to be completed by 2025.
Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said:
''Ever since the European plastic strategy was presented in 2018, the European Union has been a driving force to tackle plastic pollution. We are determined to keep pushing for ambitious action across the world, as the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises must involve all of us. Together with the members of this High Ambition Coalition the EU will work to get a solid, global plan to end plastic pollution.''
Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said:
''Plastic pollution is a global problem that needs global solutions. In the EU, we continuously enhance our efforts and improve our legislation to reduce plastic litter. By joining the High Ambition Coalition to end plastic pollution, we are not only showing commitment, but also readiness to lead by example.''
Plastics are important materials for our economy and daily lives. However, their exponential growth in the last decades is having serious negative effects on the environment and human health. Of the seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally so far, less than 10 per cent has been recycled. Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are lost to the environment, or sometimes shipped thousands of kilometres to destinations where it is mostly burned or dumped.
The adoption of a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution is a key priority of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan under the European Green Deal. The global community achieved a big milestone during the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022, when countries agreed to start negotiations for the new instrument. The EU and its Member States believe that the new instrument should include the necessary obligations enabling countries to step up actions to prevent plastics from entering the environment. A circular approach looking at the entire plastics life cycle will be key for the change needed.
Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway and Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, Espen BarthEide welcomed the news about the EU joining the community:
The European Union has been a longstanding partner and a leading force in combatting plastic pollution. I am strongly encouraged to see the EU continuing this role and joining the High Ambition Coalition’s work for a truly effective global treaty that will establish common global rules, turn off the tap and end plastic pollution by 2040.
