The case for an international agreement on plastics and plastic pollution is growing. Existing frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), UN Regional Seas Programmes and the Sustainable Development Goals among others, have spurred the adoption of measures to reduce marine plastic pollution. However, current initiatives primarily focus on the symptoms of the problem (e.g. marine litter) and lack the scale, mandate and accountability required to address plastics from production and product design to consumption and final treatment. The challenges posed by plastics therefore need to be addressed through a new global agreement, for example a Convention on Plastics and Plastic Pollution, which would be complementary to and compatible with existing treaties and targets.
Source: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)