Nearly 100 Countries Call For Global Treaty To End Plastic Pollution

Ministers and representatives from more than 95 countries are urging a strong and ambitious agreement from the global plastics treaty negotiations, Rosie Frost reported for Euronews, during the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC).

The declaration issued at the conference is dubbed the “Nice Wake-Up Call.”

Talks to draft the UN plastics treaty stalled in late 2024 after nations failed to agree on how to curb the millions of tonnes of plastic entering the environment each year.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled to resume in Geneva, Switzerland, in August.

A declaration issued at the conference, dubbed the “Nice Wake-Up Call,” outlines five key elements deemed essential for a successful treaty:

• A full lifecycle approach to plastics,

  
  

• The phasing out of chemicals of concern and problematic products,

  
  

• Improved product design,

  
  

• Effective means of implementation, and

  
  

• Provisions that allow the treaty to evolve over time.

  
  

“A treaty that lacks these elements, relies solely on voluntary measures, or fails to address the full lifecycle of plastics will not be effective in addressing the challenge of plastic pollution,” the declaration reads.

French Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher told the summit that the declaration sends a “clear and strong message.”