Fiji has officially joined the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution, becoming its 67th member. Fiji’s membership comes at a critical time as the fifth and final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) takes place in Busan, Republic of Korea next week.
The INC aims to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Of the 67 countries that are members of HAC, five are from the Pacific Islands, namely Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Solomon Islands.
"Fiji is proud to join the High Ambition Coalition at this critical juncture, plastic pollution poses a direct threat to the livelihoods, health, and ecosystems of Pacific Island nations. Our membership reaffirms Fiji’s dedication to championing a treaty that takes a bold and comprehensive approach to addressing the plastic crisis,” said Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Environment, Dr. Sivendra Michael.
Ahead of INC-5, 67 HAC Ministers have issued a Ministerial Joint Statement which calls for a treaty based on a comprehensive approach that addresses plastics throughout their entire lifecycle—including design, production, consumption, and end of life. It emphasizes the need for legally binding global rules to mitigate the negative economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of plastic pollution, particularly in developing countries and especially in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
"Such global rules are vital to make progress on the transformation to a sustainable and more circular economy ," the statement reads. "They support just transitions, provide a global level playing field for businesses, and avoid unnecessary economic costs, with positive benefits for sustainable development in all countries, including in regard to health, job creation, innovation and economic growth.”
Fiji’s decision aligns with the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ 2023 Communique and the Pacific Partnership for Prosperity, which encouraged Pacific nations to join the HAC to strengthen the region’s voice in global treaty negotiations.
"Joining the HAC is a step toward ensuring that the Pacific’s unique vulnerabilities and perspectives are prioritized in this treaty," Dr. Michael added. "We need an instrument that addresses not only the environmental impacts of plastics but also the socio-economic costs borne disproportionately by small island developing states like ours."
Without new and effective control measures, plastic production is set to double in 20 years and plastic waste leaking into the ocean is projected to triple by 2040.
The HAC is a group of like-minded countries who took the initiative to form a Coalition of ambitious countries following the adoption of resolution 5/14 “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument” by the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022.
The Coalition, co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda, is committed to develop an ambitious international legally binding instrument based on a comprehensive and circular approach that ensures urgent action and effective interventions along the full lifecycle of plastics.
Fiji’s inclusion in the Coalition strengthens the ‘One Pacific’ voice at INC-5, where Pacific delegations continue to call for transformative global action to combat plastic pollution.
“There is immense potential within the HAC to drive a robust and ambitious treaty that protects the Pacific Islands’ people and oceans," said the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s Director of Waste Management and Pollution Control (WMPC), Mr Anthony Talouli.
"History has shown us, in other multilateral agreements, that High Ambition Coalitions can achieve historic milestones and the Pacific’s role in these efforts has always been instrumental and should not be understated. We also welcome the HAC Member States Ministerial Joint Statement for INC-5 as well as similar ambitions such as the Bridge to Busan Declaration which a few Pacific States have signed onto and also aligns with Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ 2024 Communique"
To read the full High Ambition Coalition Member States Ministerial Joint Statement for INC-5 please visit: https://hactoendplasticpollution.org/hac-member-states-ministerial-joint-statement-for-inc-5/
The fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is taking place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024.
The Pacific Islands are represented by the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu through the support of the Government of Australia and the United Nations.
They are supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), working with partners the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC), The Pacific Community (SPC), Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), University of Wollongong, WWF and Massey University.
For more information, visit: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-5