Abstract: The global plastics treaty (GPT) mandates the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to create binding rules based on the best available science, traditional knowledge, knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge systems (Res 5/14). The knowledge and practices of Indigenous Pacific Island Peoples are deeply rooted in a respectful and mutual co-existence with the natural world. New materials, products, and technologies offer advantages, yet bring pollutants that were not present pre-colonization. Plastic pollution harms sustainability, ecosystems, culture, economies, health, and well-being. Polymers and petrochemicals are not produced in the region. Nevertheless, Pacific Islands communities are severely impacted by plastic pollution from the increasing volumes of plastics entering the region via trade, tourism, fishing, and tidal flows – and never leaving.
Document containing the Scientists’ Coalition’s responses to guiding questions set by the World Trade Organisation Dialogue on Plastics Pollution (WTO DPP). The responses to the guiding questions were prepared and presented at the WTO pre-plenary on 13th February and delivered orally by Richard Thompson (online) and Noreen O’Meara (in person in Geneva).
Letter sent to INC Bureau on behalf of the Scientists’ Coalition calling for protections and assurances for observer participation at INC 5.2, dated 11th February 2025.
This policy brief addresses the need for cutting plastic pollution at the source through upstream solutions to significantly decrease plastic pollution. To effectively combat the global plastics crisis, upstream measures must take center stage, as they address the problem at its source and create the necessary market incentives for sustainable alternatives. The brief outlines that cutting[…]
It is important to recognize that removal efforts alone cannot solve the plastic problem and that they fail to address the scale or wider issues of plastic pollution. The only sustainable, safe, long-term, and effective solution to the global plastics crisis is to significantly reduce, simplify and detoxify plastic polymers and products, and to establish[…]
The final INC meeting of the Plastics Treaty negotiation is rapidly upon us, and a new process with revived momentum is underway with the Chair’s non-paper. The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty has been supporting delegates, negotiators and other actors in accessing robust, independent scientific evidence to support decision making, and we have[…]