OTTAWA, Canada, CMC—The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is contributing to developing a legally binding treaty to control plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
The sub-regional OECS grouping has joined the call of international negotiators for an ambitious, comprehensive, and all-encompassing United Nations treaty on plastics that addresses issues related to the whole lifecycle of plastics.
Minister with responsibility for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action, and Consultancy Empowerment in St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Joyelle Trizia Clarke, addressing the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (ICN-4), said Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are considered the moral conscience and global voice on climate matters.
“The push for 1.5 to stay alive, the advocacy for the loss and damage fund led by Antigua and AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States), must be brought to bear here in this conversation on plastics,” she told the ICN-4, which ends on April 29.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that 70 and 95 percent of marine litter in the Caribbean Sea is from land-based sources, primarily plastics. This further highlights the urgency of dealing with plastic pollution, especially for island nations. Furthermore, many waste and pollution issues are transboundary, which means that poor control and management in one country negatively affects neighboring countries, potentially derailing their efforts at transitioning to blue economies.
This pollution destroys the marine ecosystem and affects the economic activities of humans dependent on natural resources, which becomes a hurdle in transitioning to sustainable blue economies.
Clarke told the ICN-4 that SIDS aspires to increased, amplified, and visible action on banning harmful plastics, just transition pathways, which can be shared, scaled up, and built out in a way that honors and edifies local ingenuity.
“We must also commit to co-designing, co-creating, and co-determining our stake in a resilient future where each life and livelihood is protected and respected.”
In February 2022, at the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including pollution in the marine environment, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024, and a robust financial mechanism, which advances just transition and provides specific support provisions for SIDS.
Susanna Scott, an officer in charge of the Sustainable Ocean Management Programme, and Farzana Yusuf-Leon, the technical officer, are also representing the OECS Commission at the ICN-4.
“The team is hoping that there will be, at the core of the mechanism, a ban on harmful plastics and a pathway for a just transition to secure a sustainable future for people and our planet,” the St. Lucia-based OECS Commission said in a statement.
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