While the African continent is disproportionately affected by the consequences of this scourge, several countries are at the forefront of the fight against plastic pollution. They served as models during discussions in Paris, where representatives of the United Nations Environment Assembly attempted to draft a binding legal instrument.
Nicknamed the “plastic vortex”, “plastic soup” or “plastic island”, the “seventh continent” of polymer waste continues to grow in the heart of the ocean. La production annuelle de la matière dérivée du pétrole a plus que doublé en 20 ans pour atteindre 460 millions de tonnes. As with other environmental problems, Political Science Planet is trying to launch solutions.
Plastic production could triple again by 2060, while generating almost 2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. Researchers have begun to detect microplastics in human blood, breast milk or placenta.
As part of the United Nations Environment Assembly, following the first round of negotiations in Uruguay at the end of 2022, France will host the second round of negotiations from May 29 to June 2, 2023. 175 nations join the world in the meeting’s crosshairs: a possible global treaty to combat plastic pollution, a legally binding plan.
Often described as the ultimate recipient and mediator of the world’s waste, the African continent is packed with leading countries in the fight against plastic waste. Le Kenya est connu pour son engagement dans ce domaine, et le Rwanda se joint à la Norvège pour diriger une coalition ambitieuse pour mettre fin à la pollution plastique d’ici 2040. La coalition rassemble une cinquantaine de pays. For the past fourteen years, Kigali has banned plastic bags and all packaging deemed “unnecessary”.
The most timid in this fight are countries with well-developed petrochemical industries, such as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), China and the United States. Ces derniers insistent sur la réduction de l’utilisation et de la production de plastique, plutôt que sur une meilleure gestion des déchets, notamment des détritus. Apart from the spoken word, only 9% of residues are actually recycled and 22% are simply thrown back into the environment.
Debate focused on North-South issues, exploring several avenues for policy change and market adjustment: recycling options to promote reuse, cycles of recycling, redirection and diversification (RRR+D), single-use and short-life products, promoting savings systems, removing fossil fuel subsidies.