GENEVA: Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, UN environmental officials say.
An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.
Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceansand rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results.
Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program said the “historic” agreement linked to the 186-country, UN-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders.
The deal affects products used in a broad array of industries, such as health care, technology, aerospace, fashion, food and beverages.
“It’s sending a very strong political signal to the rest of the world — to the private sector, to the consumer market — that we need to do something,” Payet said. “Countries have decided to do something which will translate into real action on the ground.”
Countries will have to figure out their own ways of adhering to the accord, Payet said. Even the few countries that did not sign it, like the United States, could be affected by the accord when they ship plastic waste to countries that are on board with the deal.
Payet credited Norway for leading the initiative, which first was presented in September. The time from that proposal to the approval of a deal set a blistering pace by traditional UN standards for such an accord.
The framework “is historic in the sense that it is legally binding,” Payet said. “They (the countries) have managed to use an existing international instrument to put in place those measures.”
The agreement is likely to lead to customs agents being on the lookout for electronic waste or other types of potentially hazardous waste more than before.
“There is going to be a transparent and traceable system for the export and import of plastic waste,” Payet said.
Landmark UN plastic waste pact gets approved but not by US
Landmark UN plastic waste pact gets approved but not by US
- An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed conventions on waste
- Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceansand rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results
China warns US ‘plotting’ on Taiwan could lead to ‘confrontation’
- Foreign Minister Wang said that any future “instigating and plotting to split China through Taiwan, crossing China’s red line”
MUNICH: Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned the United States on Saturday against “plotting” on Taiwan, saying it could lead to a “confrontation” with China.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Foreign Minister Wang said that any future “instigating and plotting to split China through Taiwan, crossing China’s red line.”
“This could very likely lead to a confrontation between China and the United States,” he said.
He added that he hoped Washington would pursue a “positive and pragmatic” approach, “but we are also prepared to deal with various risks.”
China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring under its control.
The United States has long been the democratic island’s most important backer and biggest arms provider, and Taiwan would be heavily reliant on US support in a potential conflict with China.
