Plastic crisis needs binding treaty, report says

According to research, plastic pollution is a worldwide emergency that requires a strong UN treaty.

According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), there is a “cascade of evidence” of plastic harm.

It claims that the hazard posed by plastic pollution is nearly identical to that posed by climate change. Plastic micro-particles can now be found in the air we breathe, as well as in Arctic snow, soils, and our food.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are three existential environmental problems that the UN has identified and agreed must be tackled collectively.

For nearly 30 years, multilateral accords on biodiversity loss and climate change have existed (although they have failed to halt CO2 emissions or protect the natural world).

Some countries have recently expressed opposition to the notion of a separate plastics treaty.

However, it is said that over 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, support a pact that will be tabled at the UN Environment Assembly in February and March.

According to sources, outright opposition is waning. However, there is disagreement about how severe the pact should be and whether it should be legally compulsory or optional.

Former US President Donald Trump had previously opposed a worldwide accord, but US President Joe Biden has said that the US now supports it.

It’s unclear whether he’ll get congressional clearance because most plastics are made from oil and gas, both of which are produced in the United States.

Japan is thought to be attempting to downplay the treaty’s ambitions. So far, the Arab Gulf states and China have remained mute. Although the United States and the United Kingdom are claimed to be the largest producers of rubbish per person, China creates the most “virgin plastic.”

Although there are many unknowns, Hans Peter Arp, a chemistry professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, believes that plastic pollution has already crossed a planetary limit, a level that should not be crossed due to the damage to humanity………………