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Plastics: Pollution Control

Answer

The UK is proud to have supported the proposal by Rwanda and Peru that led to the ambitious resolution on ending plastic pollution agreed at the continuation of the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022.

A series of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meetings are now underway to negotiate the content of the treaty, with good progress being made. The second of five planned INC meetings is taking place 29 May – 2 June in Paris, with the aim of concluding negotiations by the end of 2024.

The UK’s objectives are to agree an ambitious and comprehensive treaty that addresses the whole lifecycle of plastics, from the production and design of plastics to their consumption and disposal. Furthermore, the UK supports a treaty that addresses the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution.

The UK supports a combination of internationally legally binding obligations and national measures across the whole lifecycle of plastic to ensure that the treaty can adequately address the transboundary nature of plastic pollution.

The UK is also a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of over 50 countries calling for a headline target under the treaty to stop plastic from flowing into the environment by 2040.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL8093

Session

2022-23

Subjects

Pollution control Plastics Treaties

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk