Negotiations begin in Kenya on global agreement against plastic pollution
Negotiations on an international agreement to curb plastic waste have begun in Kenya. Plastic pollution poses "a direct threat to our environment, human health and the delicate balance of our planet", said Peruvian Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velásquez, chairman of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, at the opening of the talks in Nairobi. "We have the collective power to change this development."
Representatives from more than 170 countries are negotiating in Nairobi until Sunday on which specific measures should be included in a globally binding agreement to end plastic waste pollution. A draft text published in September will be discussed for the first time.
It is the third of a total of five rounds of negotiations. Last year, 175 nations pledged to agree on a legally binding UN treaty against plastic pollution of the environment and oceans by 2024. Global plastic production has doubled in the past 20 years. Millions of tons of plastic end up in the environment and in the sea, often in the form of microscopic particles. This so-called microplastic can not only end up in the digestive tract, but also in the bloodstream of living organisms.
- The threat of plastic pollution to the environment and human health was strongly emphasized by Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velásquez during the opening of the negotiations against plastic waste in Kenya.
- If successful, the negotiations in Kenya could lead to a global agreement that will significantly impact Kenya's efforts to combat plastic pollution.
- Addressing plastic pollution in Kenya is crucial as it is one of the countries that are most affected by the environmental and health problems caused by microplastics, a byproduct of plastic waste.
Source: www.ntv.de
