GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia has established a National Negotiating Committee (NNC) to ensure that national interests are taken into account, following a landmark mandate calling for the development of a global plastics treaty, which was adopted during the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) last week.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Consumers Association of Penang said they were informed of the country's move to form a NNC to represent the country in negotiating the global treaty, which is aimed at controlling plastic waste globally.
The UN is poised to approve the plan to create the first-ever global plastic pollution treaty, hailing the resolution (treaty) as the most important multilateral climate deal since the 2015 Paris accord.
World leaders, ministers and other representatives from nearly 200 countries at the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed on Wednesday to develop the treaty.
The resolution, which addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal, will be developed over the next two years.
Nevertheless, SAM/CAP, who are the leading local organisation fighting plastic waste, wants the NNC to ensure that the sovereign borders of the country will not be compromised by global plastic trade activities and that pollution is kept in check.
Malaysia drew international headlines just before the Covid- 9 pandemic struck, when the country stumbled upon several containers of imported waste from developed nations, which were shipped here to be recycled.
The main complaints were that Malaysia does not have the resources to treat plastic waste, while several nongovernmental organisations have said that the majority of plastic waste accummulated over the decades cannot be fully recycled. The debris ends up dumped indiscriminately around the country.
"Plastic pollution does not respect borders," said SAM senior research officer S. Mageswari. "It is a global crisis that threatens public health and the climate.
"We (CAP & SAM) as part of the movement calling for a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by addressing the full life cycle of plastics and its impacts are indeed happy that th UNEA 5.2 made a historic decision, with countries unanimously adopting the resolution to 'End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument'."
The resolution will provide a mandate for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to establish an 'Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee' (INC) to work on a legally binding instrument to tackle the full life cycle of plastics, including marine plastic pollution, by the end of 2024.
"We are pleased that the governments approved a broad, open mandate to start talks on the plastics treaty. This will enable civil society organizations (CSOs) to advocate for issues such as climate, toxics and health impacts of plastics to be covered in the future treaty. CSOs together with waste picker advocates will also have to work hard to ensure that our fight to end plastic pollution is realised, and protect the global plastics treaty from corporate greenwash and false solutions."
A regional CSO has also hailed the move as a breakthrough, although its Asia Pacific coordinator director Froilan Grate says it needs cooperation and support from each country to execute the treaty.
Manila-based Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and the #breakfreefromplastic movement welcomes the adoption of the landmark mandate.
In a statement, GAIA said that if plastic production and use continues to grow at its current rate, its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 could be equivalent to the emissions of more than 295 new 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants.
At this rate, emissions throughout the plastic life cycle threatens any possibility of meeting global climate targets.
Moreover, plastic pollution goes beyond national borders. Toxic plastic particles contaminate water, air, and the food chain, ultimately harming human health.
Advocacy groups across the Asia Pacific reiterate the call for a Global Plastics Treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and its impacts, integrates the voices and experiences of waste pickers, provides accessible and transparent data on plastic production and enforces strong Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) with clear upstream targets.
“We are elated that the contribution of informal waste workers is finally being recognised by this governing body,” said Grate
“This is an important milestone. Our members and communities have shown for years how critical their role is in achieving Zero Waste. We hope that this opens the door for more discussions on their livelihood, protection, and security.“
Ahead of the treaty, more than two hundred environmental groups in the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement and GAIA in Asia Pacific, and over a million people across the world, urged their respective governments to support the call towards a legally binding plastics treaty. – The Vibes, March 7, 2022
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