A group of "like-minded countries" led by Rwanda and Norway launched a new group last week which is to support work towards an ambitious international instrument to end plastic pollution. The EU member states participating in the "High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC)" are Denmark, France, Finland, Germany and Portugal. They were joined by co-chair Norway, Iceland, UK, and Switzerland, along with individual countries in Africa and Asia, along with a handful of governments in the Americas. The group's common ambition is to end plastic pollution by 2040.
In March, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2) voted to begin negotiations on a legally binding international instrument on plastic and plastic waste. The newly formed Coalition plans to issue statements and, between upcoming talks on the future treaty, to undertake "work on essential elements and to inform the negotiations". The timeframe for deliberations envisioned by the UNEA runs until the end of 2024. The final text would be subsequently adopted at a diplomatic conference.
In preparation of the start of negotiations, the HAC is outlined three strategic goals: to restrict plastic consumption and production to sustainable levels, to enable a circular economy for plastics and to achieve the environmentally sound management and recycling of plastic waste....
