Nordic environment ministers have introduced possible approaches for a global agreement to reduce the environmental impact of plastics entering the oceans, and for preventing plastics pollution in general. The officials also compiled their ideas and suggestions for a United Nations treaty on plastics pollution in a new report, which was a joint effort with the WWF-UK (Woking; www.wwf.org.uk), the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF, Cowes / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) and Boston Consulting Group (Munich / Germany; www.bcg.com). The meeting on 19 October 2020 featured environment ministers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and served as a follow-up to similar talks in Reykjavik / Iceland in April 2019.

With more than 11m t of plastics entering the ocean every year, the top 10 most commonly found items in international coastal clean-ups are all made of plastics, according to the report, which suggests an approach for a new global agreement that aims to ally governments, industry and consumers to prevent plastics pollution. Sustainability criteria for plastic products across the entire lifecycle is another feature in the report. In March 2019, the UN unveiled three reports with solutions for different aspects of plastics pollution in the marine environment (see Plasteurope.com of 27.03.2019).

Iceland’s minister for environment and natural resources, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, said the country already has a national plan for managing and preventing plastics waste. “Plastics pollution does not respect borders. That is why this is an international task, like most other environmental challenges. Such issues need to be dealt with by global agreements and strong actions in each country. Our task now is to reach consensus on a new global agreement, and the report is helpful in outlining the elements of such an agreement. This is not a question of if or when, but how. We must not waste any time.”

A UN treaty on plastics pollution should seek to create a level playing field across the value chain, one that accelerates the transformation of the industry and existing voluntary initiatives. Specifically, the Nordic ministers said the UN should pursue these goals:

• Help reduce operational complexity and compliance risk across markets.
• Enable businesses to plan investments while managing the costs of compliance-scanning.
• Simplify reporting across the plastics value chain, bringing greater transparency to more effectively measure progress and manage reputational risk.
• Coordinate actions across the plastics value chain, improving the prospects for meeting corporate commitments.