In order to fight against the pollution generated by the production of plastic in the world, an international agreement has just been put on the table by Peru and Rwanda.

Supported by the 27 members of the European Union as well as seven other countries, he proposes to create an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee with the mandate of establishing "an international legally binding agreement based on a comprehensive approach to prevent and reduce pollution of the environment ”through plastic.

Since the early 1950s, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastics have been produced worldwide.

Despite progress in recycling or banning single-use products, the volume of waste ending up in the oceans could triple by 2040, said the organizers of the ministerial conference held on Wednesday and Thursday in Geneva.

Microplastics taken into account

This agreement would also take into account microplastics (a source of pollution whose magnitude is only beginning to be measured) and would promote a circular economy encompassing the entire cycle of these products: from their manufacture to their use. by preventing the production of waste, its management and treatment, specifies the draft resolution. The latter is to be examined by the United Nations Environment Assembly, which is due to meet from February 28 to March 2 in Nairobi.

The text of the resolution goes beyond just pollution of the marine environment by plastics because “80% of the plastics that end up in the sea come from land-based sources”.

To do this, "we must take into account all the environments where plastic fails and focus both on activities and measures upstream and downstream", underlines the text.

Soon "more plastic than fish in the oceans"

Jochen Flasbarth, German State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment stressed that the ministerial declaration has already garnered the strong support of 25 countries and the commitment of 50 others who need a formal decision before joining.

“25 plus 50 before you even start is pretty good,” he said during a press briefing.

As for the duration of the negotiations?

“It is very difficult to predict how long the negotiations will take.

I think it will not be in months but rather in a small number of years to see a convention come into force, ”he added.

Bérangère Abba, French Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological Transition, in charge of Biodiversity, warned: "If we do nothing, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than there is fish ”.

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