Co-Chairs of the High Ambition Coalition, H.E. Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment of Rwanda and H.E. Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Climate and the Environment of Norway
Ms. Erin Simon, Vice President of Plastic Waste and Business at the World Wildlife Fund
Excellencies, Ministers, and friends.
My thanks to WWF International, the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty and the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty for organizing this meeting of the High Ambition Coalition.
We are gathering in Paris ahead of the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, or INC-2. INC-2 is the international community’s chance to set the stage for negotiations on the substance of a global deal to end plastic pollution. INC-2 is a chance to edge closer to protecting ecosystems, species and humanity from the grave impacts of the linear plastics economy. INC-2 is a chance to show leadership, determination and, above all, ambition.
So, what does ambition look like?
Ambition is re-designing to reduce plastic in products. This could be through deliquefying products or changing the way we package.
Ambition is making it easier to repair, reuse, refill and recycle so that circularity becomes possible.
Ambition is providing incentives to make recycled polymers cheaper than virgin plastics.
Ambition is backing research and development on sustainable alternatives to plastics.
Ambition is building waste management infrastructure that can cope with the load.
Ambition is creating new jobs, new markets, and new business opportunities.
Ambition is a just transition that ensures waste-pickers and vulnerable communities have decent jobs and a safe, healthy environment.
Ambition is ensuring that legacy plastic arriving at the shores of small island states or developing countries for many decades after the tap has been turned off, is dealt with.
Ambition is a legally binding instrument that shows solidarity and provides financial resources for the global south.
This is what ambition looks like. This is what the deal can help to deliver.
What can each key group do to get us there?
One, members states can agree on obligations, control measures and voluntary approaches that address the full life cycle of plastics.
This means incentivizing the private sector. Enabling the just transition. Empowering consumers with plastic-free choices, or at least plastics that are free from harmful chemicals and designed for multiple use. Dealing with the legacy of plastic pollution and safe disposal of non-circular items.
All of this must be backed with adequate means of implementation. A mechanism that allows for ratcheting up commitments. Provisions that incentivize market shifts, for instance, in terms of the percentage of post-consumer resin in plastic products, or the percentage of virgin plastic produced compared to alternatives. Effective stakeholder engagement and participation. Synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements and regional instruments.
Two, industry and the private sector.
The Business Coalition will give its input to negotiators, which could be extremely valuable for shaping an appropriate business environment. As Paul Polman wrote in a recent opinion piece on plastic pollution, “An effective and enforceable set of global rules and responsibilities will be vastly better for everyone.” But recommendations alone do not make ambition. Ambition for the private sector is acting now. Getting creative now, in the current business environment. Getting chemists and product designers to think differently. And it’s all about redesign.
Redesign of products and packaging to use less plastic. Do we need to default to plastic in everything because it’s what we have done for so long? Of course not.
Redesign of products for reuse. Is there a good reason that businesses can’t look at refillable bottles, reusable packaging, take-back services and so on? Of course not.
Redesign of products for recycling. Can businesses use recyclable mono-materials and modular products designed for disassembly and recycling? Of course they can.
There is profit in plastic. And there is profit in other ways of doing business. The key difference is that other ways of doing business will pay dividends without polluting ecosystems, harming human health and warming the planet.
Three, science, civil society, and other stakeholders.
This broad community has been critical to get us to where we are today. Your activism helped us land the historic decision at the fifth UN Environment Assembly earlier this year. Thank you. And let me stress: Your voices matter. You are being heard. I ask that you continue to push and drive ambition by providing science and insights into the potential impacts of policies. Give voice to affected communities and demand a just transition and better jobs. Hold negotiators accountable and keep doing it once the deal is being implemented.
Four, consumers.
By refusing plastics, consumers can reduce demand. I understand that isn’t easy or convenient to refuse plastics. Then again, a planet awash in plastic waste containing harmful chemicals isn’t convenient. Consumer education is important here, but more so is mandated consumer information. And even more important are policies and measures that lower the cost of sustainable alternatives to plastic and make them the norm.
Friends, we are all in this together. So, ambition is, above all, unity of purpose.
The right outcome from INC-2 will move the deal down the road. A mandate for a zero draft will take us one step further, putting ink to paper. That zero draft can then form basis of negotiations at INC-3 and be further refined at future sessions until adoption. The global community must get this deal done, get it done on time, and start implementing as soon as possible.
But, again, I ask every stakeholder to do what they can, right now. Procrastination is not ambitious. Firm and immediate action is.
Thank you.
