Ending plastic pollution; protecting our blue planet

Speech deliverd by Inger Andersen to the European Parliament, ENVI Committee Meeting.

The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste is upon us and bearing down harder every year. If we do not act strongly, this crisis will crush our chances of delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals. We can forget about ending hunger and poverty, delivering peace and equity, and living in harmony with the natural world.

This year, however, the international community has demonstrated the will to act with the force and speed needed to halt the triple planetary crisis. Stockholm+50 showed that the world is ready for system-wide transformations that place human well-being at the centre of a healthy planet. And, a few months earlier, in March, the Nairobi spirit of consensus-based diplomacy delivered high-impact outcomes at the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly, or UNEA 5.2.

 We had a milestone moment with the adoption of the resolution to create, by 2024, an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This resolution is a testament to global coordination, cooperation and meaningful multistakeholder engagement. My appreciation to the European Union for your support in arriving at these positive outcomes.

As I see it, at the top level, the deal must be ambitious, well-designed, and inclusive. The deal should include clear, defined, and monitorable targets – against which Member States can measure progress. The deal should recognize that our societies and economies depend on plastics, but that it is a product that should generally not be for single-use. The deal needs to be inclusive and address the concerns of all countries and those that work within the plastics economy.

But let us talk specifics. Here are my five key recommendations.

One, build a broad instrument that does not just tinker around the edges.

Two, be informed by science. 

Three, bring everybody under the action umbrella. 

Four, spur solutions for a new economy.

Five, learn from other multilateral agreements and instruments, but embrace innovations in the multilateral environmental space. 

We have two years to get this deal agreed and running, but the process is already in motion.

It is crucial that the European Union maintains high ambition on the triple planetary crisis, in the interests of not only European citizens, but the rest of the planet. I ask members of the European Parliament, through ongoing discussions on elements of the Fit for 55 package, to take the right decisions for planet and people, based on science.

To see Inger Andersen's speech click here.