(Arlington, VA – December 16, 2024) In November 2024, 175 countries met in Busan, Korea, to continue negotiating a global treaty to address plastic pollution. Countries were unable to overcome differences on key issues, with more than 100 high-ambition countries advocating for a comprehensive life-cycle approach from production, consumption, to disposal, while a small number of other countries and the plastics industry attempted to weaken the process to a voluntary, non-binding focus only on waste management.
In response to the gridlock, Rare President Caleb McClennen, PhD, has released the following statement:
“The Global Plastics Treaty has the potential to address and mitigate the plastic crisis at all levels of society, from government to the private sector. However, political gridlock has effectively stalled the implementation of a global treaty until 2025. In the absence of a treaty, it is essential we continue the groundswell of bottom-up action to demonstrate a global commitment that transcends governments inaction.
“Right now, billions of people around the world have the power to reduce plastic waste and create momentum that builds the enabling conditions for governments to act. By reducing single-use plastics in their daily lives and demanding more reuse options at a systemic level, people have the power to put pressure on an economy that has become over-reliant on plastic production.
“Rare looks forward to continuing this important work alongside its partners to help support a people-centered shift towards a circular economy ensures much-needed policy reform is informed by the latest behavioral science. At its core, the Global Plastics Treaty must both spur government action while unlocking the potential for people-powered, bottom up solutions.”
Rare is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme to tackle plastic pollution by increasing national and local capacity to design and implement behavior change programs that reduce plastic waste. Along with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Rare is also applying behavioral insights to reducing single-use plastic waste in Asian cities and communities.
###