Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke takes part in negotiations in Canada on a legally binding agreement.
A high-level meeting of environment ministers in Ottawa, Canada concluded on Monday with a clear framework for a far-reaching global UN agreement to end plastic pollution. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, lead negotiator for the German government, emphasised that the UN agreement needs to be legally binding and cover the entire product cycle of plastic. The fourth and penultimate round of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC4) is meeting in Ottawa, Canada from 23 to 29 April 2024 to develop a global UN instrument on plastic pollution. Negotiations are planned to conclude at the end of 2024, followed by the adoption of the agreement in the first half of 2025 at a high-level UN conference.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke remarked: "In Ottawa we laid the foundation for concluding a strong global agreement to fight plastic pollution. Our meeting was a very important step. I am confident that this agreement will be a successful milestone on the path to solving the global waste crisis. Huge quantities of plastic litter and microplastics in the oceans and elsewhere in nature harm plants and animals, but also very specifically harm people. For me, three aspects of this plastics instrument are key: the agreement must be both robust and legally binding. It has to look at the entire product cycle of plastic, from production to use to closed-loop waste management, for example recycling. Finally, it requires broad support. Industry, producers and retail also hold responsibility here. Nature and the oceans are choked with litter. We can only tackle this crisis successfully by working together."
Science has played a decisive role in the last decades by providing hard evidence of the impacts of plastic waste and the extent of the problem. Studies show that microplastic and nanoplastic particles can be found everywhere in the human body. Even infants and unborn babies are affected. The ministers all agreed that the instrument needs a solid scientific basis. All agreed that the current knowledge on the issue makes taking action a matter of urgency.
The subsequent negotiations at expert level will aim to further consolidate the almost 70-page draft text. The fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee is crucial for the successful conclusion of the agreement this year. The negotiation process is scheduled to conclude at the fifth meeting (INC5), planned for 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Korea. Adoption of the agreement at a high-level UN conference is expected in the first half of 2025.