13 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Pacific delegations from 14 Pacific countries have travelled far and wide to be in Nairobi, Kenya, the home of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this week.
They are on a mission to amplify the One Pacific Voice calling for an end to plastic pollution as global negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, ramps up.
The third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) taking place in Nairobi this week is the latest critical step of a journey that started Punta del Este, Uruguay (INC-1) and Paris (INC-2) where the mandate was delivered for the INC Chair to prepare a zero draft of the agreement.
A zero draft is referred to as the first attempt to assemble thoughts or ideas related to a proposed agreement, or a research topic. In Nairobi, Pacific negotiators are joining negotiators from all over the world to dig into the zero draft.
During the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Ms Inger Andersen, reminded that the resolution passed at UNEA 5.2 in same city where INC-3 is taking place this week, called for an instrument “based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.”
“The resolution did not call for an instrument that deals with plastic pollution by recycling or waste management alone. The full life cycle. This means rethinking everything along the chain, from polymer to pollution, from product to packaging,” she said.
“We need to use fewer virgin materials, less plastic and no harmful chemicals. We need to ensure that we use, reuse, and recycle resources more efficiently. And dispose safely of what is left over. This is how we protect human and ecosystem health, slow climate change, create new jobs and sustainable markets, and deliver a just transition.”
INC-2 was preceded by regional consultations on 12 November 2023. A preparatory one-day meeting took place on 11 November 2023, at the same venue. As of 1 October 2023, the Zero Draft text of the international legally binding instrument, prepared by the Chair of the INC, with the support of the INC Secretariat, became available to all member countries.
Executive Director Ms Inger Andersen said INC-3 must end with a strong next iteration of the draft text and a mandate for the Chair to get this iteration of the next draft ready for the next round of negotiations in Ottawa, Canada, next year.
“One of the most important enablers is private sector leadership. If industry gets not just behind this deal, but ahead of it, by putting its resources and innovation to immediate work, we can turbo charge transformation. I ask the private sector to understand that this is not just about philanthropy, or corporate social responsibility. This is about your future – in the boardroom as much as in your homes,” said Ms Andersen. “This instrument is coming. The world is changing. And we all know that, as this drive to sustainability gathers pace, the early movers and innovators will be those that succeed.”
The President of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto, opened INC-3 reiterating the call for change.
“To deal with plastic pollution, humanity must change,” he said. “We must change the way we consume, the way we produce and how we dispose our waste. This is the reality of our world. Change is inevitable. This treaty, this instrument that we are working on, is the first domino in this change. Let us bring it home. Let the change begin.”
The third Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is taking place in Nairobi Kenya from 13 - 19 November 2023.
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, Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, Environmental Investigation Agency, Centre for International Environmental Law, University of Wollongong, WWF and Massey University.
For more information on INC-3, visit: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-3
Photo Credit: INC3 Secretariat