18 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Pacific members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have joined the group’s member states in Ottawa, Canada, to comb through the revised draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
The gathering, convened by Samoa as Chair of AOSIS, is taking place as the countdown continues to the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-4) from 23 to 29 April 2024. The three-day coordination meeting, held at the University of Ottawa, a stone’s throw away from the Shaw Centre where the INC-4 will be held, is to discuss and finalise the group’s positions on key issues, taking into account the proposed organisation of work for next week.
AOSIS Lead Ocean Negotiator, Ms Anama Solofa, welcomed all the members, acknowledging the distance many of them have had to travel to be in Canada. She reminded that the coordination meeting on Thursday is the culmination of work with members that started soon after the third INC in November 2023.
From Nairobi Kenya, a revised draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution was released, consisting of six parts. It contains the merged texts from Contact Group 1, Contact Group 2 and Contact Group 3.
“We appreciate the engagement and the feedback from all our members in our work to finalise our positions as we head to negotiations next week. We look forward to a fruitful conversation over the next few days,” Ms Solofa said.
“Our message has remained clear and consistent from the start: we need an ambitious, effective and equitable Instrument to end plastic pollution once and for all. We must do so constructively and swiftly, as the accelerating global plastic pollution crisis continues to disproportionately affect SIDS livelihoods, health, economies, and environment.
“The agreement must ensure ambitious actions across the full lifecycle of plastics, with new, additional, adequate and predictable means of implementation and specific support provisions for SIDS, including priority access, especially in areas where SIDS are disproportionately affected.”
Since 1990, AOSIS has represented the interests of the 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states in international climate change, sustainable development negotiations and processes.
As a voice for the vulnerable, its mandate is more than amplifying marginalised voices as it also advocates for these countries’ interests. This work continues at INC-4.
The AOSIS meeting, held at the University of Ottawa, follows the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) preparatory meeting the day before. A key part of the PSIDS meeting was preparing positions to ensure the Pacific’s priorities are reflected and acknowledged in AOSIS positions.
The fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is taking place in Ottawa, Canada, from 23-29 April 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-4
Photo Credit: The Ocean Clean Up