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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

04/03/22 09:10 AM IST

A Global Plastics Treaty

In News
One hundred and seventy-five countries, parties to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA),signed a mandate which makes it legally binding for the signatories to address the full life of plastics — from production to disposal, to end plastic pollution.
Details 
  • Historic step at UNEA 5.2. 175 nations endorse a resolution to beat plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.
  • The treaty will tackle the whole life cycle of plastic — not just post-consumer waste. This is a critical shift in international policymakers’ approach to the crisis, which previously focused on plastic as a “marine litter” issue.
  • The mandate recommends measures to tackle plastic production, which as of now is slated to almost quadruple by 2050, and take up 10-13% of global carbon budget, endangering climate.
  • The mandate also recommends addressing the toxic burden of plastic, following hundreds of studies showing the impact of plastic in the environment and its presence in air, agricultural lands, and drinking water.
  • Toxic chemicals from plastic have been shown to enter the human body through a variety of routes, causing infertility, cancers, and metabolic dysfunction, among others.
Steps taken by Indian Govt. 

  • India has banned single-use plastic, which will come into effect on July 1.
  • The Centre has also recently issued fresh guidelines for manufacturers, brand owners, importers of plastics making it mandatory to recycle and has drawn up a pathway to incorporate the large informal sector, which is involved in plastic recycling, in a more formal circular economy.
About UNEP 

  • The United Nations Environment Assembly was created in June 2012, when world leaders called for UN Environment to be strengthened and upgraded during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also referred to as RIO+20.
  • The United Nations Environment Assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. It addresses the critical environmental challenges facing the world today.
  • The Environment Assembly meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law.
Source- Indian Express

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