8 Makkelijke manieren waarop je kan helpen de oceaan te behouden
Kom hier meer te weten over het programma en over hoe je betrokken kunt raken. Je kunt ook een donatie doen om namens jou zeegras te planten ...
verdrag tegen plasticvervuiling
Het wereldwijde probleem is urgent geworden. Onlangs hebben tijdens de Assemblee van de Verenigde Naties over natuur en milieu vertegenwoordigers van 175 naties een resolutie aangenomen voor een wereldwijd bindend <anchor>verdrag tegen plasticvervuiling</anchor>, waaronder maatregelen voor recycling en schoonmaak, en een rem op de productie van plastic. Velen hebben aangegeven dat dit het belangrijkste akkoord voor natuur en milieu is sinds het Akkoord van Parijs uit 2015 over klimaatverandering – en de eerste in zijn soort.
Nations sign up to end global scourge of plastic pollution | UN News
Nations sign up to end global scourge of plastic pollution \| UN News

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# Nations sign up to end global scourge of plastic pollution

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![A worker sorts plastic for recycling at Dandora landfill in Nairobi, Kenya.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/28-02-2022_UNEP_Kenya-3.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg)

© UNEP

A worker sorts plastic for recycling at Dandora landfill in Nairobi, Kenya.

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# Nations sign up to end global scourge of plastic pollution

2 March 2022[Climate and Environment](/en/news/topic/climate-change)

Heads of State, environment ministers and other representatives from 175 nations, endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on Wednesday to [end plastic pollution](https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/38522/k2200647_-_unep-ea-5-l-23-rev-1_-_advance.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y), and forge an international legally binding agreement, by the end of 2024.

The landmark resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.

## **On track ‘for a cure’**

“Against the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) shows multilateral cooperation at its best,” said President of the Assembly, and Norway’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Espen Barth Eide. “Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. With today’s resolution we are officially on track for a cure.”

> Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. With today’s resolution we are officially on track for a cure. _Espen Barth Eide_

The resolution, based on three initial draft resolutions from various nations, establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) which will begin its work this year, aiming to complete a draft legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.

That in turn, is expected to present a legally binding instrument, which would reflect diverse alternatives to address the full lifecycle of plastics, the design of reusable and recyclable products and materials, and the need for enhanced international collaboration to facilitate access to technology, to allow the revolutionary plan to be realized.

The UN Environment Programme ( [UNEP](https://www.unep.org/)) said that it would convene a forum by the end of this year in conjunction with the first session of the INC, to share knowledge and best practices in different parts of the world.

![UNEA President Espen Barth Eide (right), UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen (center) and Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary of Environment of Kenya, applaud the passing of the resolution.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/02-03-2022-UNEP-Espen-Barth-Eide-01.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg)

UNEP/Cyril Villemain

UNEA President Espen Barth Eide (right), UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen (center) and Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary of Environment of Kenya, applaud the passing of the resolution.

## **‘Triumph by planet earth’**

It will be based on open discussion, informed by science, and report back on progress throughout the next two years. Finally, upon completion of the INC’s work, UNEP will convene a diplomatic conference to adopt its outcome and open it for signatures.

> It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it. _Inger Andersen_

“Today marks a triumph by planet earth over single-use plastics. This is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord. It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it.” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“Let it be clear that the INC’s mandate does not grant any stakeholder a two-year pause”, she added. “In parallel to negotiations over an international binding agreement, UNEP will work with any willing government and business across the value chain to shift away from single-use plastics, as well as to mobilise private finance and remove barriers to investments in research and in a new circular economy”.

## **Scale of the problem**

![Dandora landfill in Nairobi, Kenya, where much of the waste in the landfill is plastic. ](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/28-02-2022_UNEP_Kenya-2.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg)

© UNEP

Dandora landfill in Nairobi, Kenya, where much of the waste in the landfill is plastic.

Plastic pollution soared from two million tonnes in 1950, to 348 million tonnes in 2017, becoming a global industry valued at $522.6 billion, said UNEP. It is expected to double in capacity, by 2040.

The impacts of plastic production and pollution on the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution are a catastrophe in the making, the UN agency said, with exposure to plastics harming human health, and potentially affecting fertility, hormonal, metabolic and neurological activity, while open burning of plastics contributes to [air pollution](https://www.unep.org/resources/report/actions-air-quality-global-summary-policies-and-programmes-reduce-air-pollution).

[By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions associated with plastic production, use and disposal](https://www.unep.org/resources/pollution-solution-global-assessment-marine-litter-and-plastic-pollution), would account for 15 per cent of allowed emissions, under the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 **°** C (34.7 **°** F) in line with the [Paris Agreement](https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement) on climate change.

More than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers, while around 11 million tonnes of plastic waste flow each year into the ocean. This could triple by 2040.

The historic resolution, entitled “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an internationally legally binding instrument”, was adopted with the conclusion of the three-day [UNEA-5.2](https://www.unep.org/environmentassembly/) meeting, attended by more than 3,400 in-person and 1,500 online participants from 175 UN Member States, including 79 ministers and 17 high-level officials.

The Assembly will be followed by [“UNEP@50,” a two-day Special Session of the Assembly](https://www.unep.org/50-years/), marking UNEP’s 50th anniversary where Member States are expected to address how to build a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.

## Protecting nature at the core of SDGs: Deputy UN chief

In [her remarks](https://www.un.org/sg/en/node/262175) to the UN Environment Assembly, the Deputy Secretary-General, [Amina Mohammed](https://www.un.org/sg/en/dsg/index.shtml), noted the theme was based around "Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the [Sustainable Development Goals](https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/)”.

"One thing we know for certain is that protecting nature is at the core of achieving the [2030 Agenda](https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/) and the goals of the Paris Agreement", she said.

"If we are to ensure food and water security for all people around the world, we need to prevent ecosystem collapse."

COP26 underscored the need to keep the 1.5C degree goal within reach, she said, adding that everyone now knows that climate impacts are "the greatest dividers: they hit vulnerable communities everywhere; and they disproportionately impact the ability of developing countries to prosper and thrive."

She said that protecting ecosystems will help us keep closing the key greenhouse gas emissions gap by 2030 – "a gap that is unfortunately widening, not shrinking."

Ms. Mohammed noted that progress on a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution provides "a chance to truly make a difference, one that shows again the value of multilateralism", stressing that Africa has led the way.

34 out of 54 countries have already put in place legislation on single used plastics bags, she said, "and I encourage more countries to follow suit.

"Today, no area of the planet is left untouched by plastic pollution, from deep sea sediment, to Mount Everest. The planet deserves a truly multilateral solution to this scourge that affects us all. An agreement that speaks from source to sea."

### UNEA photo gallery: Participants celebrate passage of resolution

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- [plastic pollution](/en/tags/plastic-pollution)
- [enviroment](/en/tags/enviroment)

## Related Stories

[![Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed visits the Adopt-a-River initiative at Kawangware Primary School, Nairobi to witness, first-hand, ecosystem restoration efforts.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/03-03-2022_UNEP_Kenya-02.jpg/image100x100cropped.jpg)](/en/story/2022/03/1113282)

### [Turning waste to wealth: In Nairobi, UN deputy chief lauds youth-led development solutions](/en/story/2022/03/1113282)

[![Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is threatening marine life.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/assets/2018/06/07-06-2018-Saeed-Rashid-turtle-plastic.jpg/image100x100cropped.jpg)](/en/story/2018/06/1011671)

### [FROM THE FIELD: Plastic pollution choking world’s oceans](/en/story/2018/06/1011671)

[![A face mask found during a beach cleanup in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, USA.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/28-07-2020_Unsplash_face-mask.jpg/image100x100cropped.jpg)](/en/story/2020/07/1069151)

### [Five things you should know about disposable masks and plastic pollution](/en/story/2020/07/1069151)

## News Tracker: Past Stories on This Issue

[![A 30-foot high monument entitled 'Turn off the plastics tap' by Canadian activist and artist Benjamin von Wong stands outside the venue for the UN Environment Assembly taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/28-02-2022-UNEP-turn-off-plastic.jpg/image350x235cropped.jpg)](/en/story/2022/02/1112972)

### [UN Environment Assembly opens, sets sites on ending plastic pollution](/en/story/2022/02/1112972)

28 February 2022

[Climate and Environment](/en/news/topic/climate-change)

Delegates were looking to advance a global agreement on plastic pollution, among a series of draft resolutions on biodiversity and health, green economy, and circularity, as the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly kicked off in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Monday.

[![Waste pickers sort through a garbage dump in India.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/02-12-2019-UNDP-waste-pickers.jpg/image350x235cropped.jpg)](/en/story/2019/12/1052551)

### [FROM THE FIELD: India’s plastic waste revolution](/en/story/2019/12/1052551)

2 December 2019

[Climate and Environment](/en/news/topic/climate-change)

The recycling of plastic waste in India is boosting the incomes of impoverished women and helping build roads and fire cement furnaces, thanks to support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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