The European Union is joining the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution by 2040, the European Commission announced on Thursday 24 November.
The Council of the EU gave the green light on 15 November for the Commission to confirm its political commitment in the form of a non-binding agreement (see EUROPE 13063/33).
The coalition, co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda, includes almost a third of UN member states.
With this political commitment, the coalition members intend to aim high in the negotiation of a legally binding international agreement on plastic pollution for which the Commission was authorised to negotiate on behalf of the EU in October (see EUROPE 13049/5).
Negotiations will start in Uruguay on 28 November and are expected to end in 2025.
This future agreement will cover the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal, to defeat plastic pollution and the mandate to negotiate is open, as agreed by UN members in March at the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi (see EUROPE 12902/26).
“By joining the High Ambition Coalition to end plastic pollution, we are not only showing commitment, but also readiness to lead by example”, said European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)