Why the Plastic Problem Needs a Legally Binding Global Treaty

By Akshat Rathi – Bloomberg

If all goes right, there will be a legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution by the end of 2024, marking the end of a relatively speedy process for global environmental deal-making.

The treaty negotiations, which 175 nations agreed to put on a fast-track at a United Nations meeting in 2022, has taken on urgency because of the increasingly unignorable signs of plastic pollution. Tiny plastic particles have now been found in almost every corner of the planet, the deepest part of the ocean and in all parts of the human body, including the placenta that connects the baby to its mother.