Environmental groups celebrate establishment of UN plastics treaty

[superadmin]

GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia has established a National Negotiating Committee (NNC) to ensure that national interests are taken into account, following a landmark mandate calling for the development of a global plastics treaty, which was adopted during the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) last week.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Consumers Association of Penang said they were informed of the country's move to form a NNC to represent the country in negotiating the global treaty, which is aimed at controlling plastic waste globally.

The UN is poised to approve the plan to create the first-ever global plastic pollution treaty, hailing the resolution (treaty) as the most important multilateral climate deal since the 2015 Paris accord.

World leaders, ministers and other representatives from nearly 200 countries at the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed on Wednesday to develop the treaty.

The resolution, which addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal, will be developed over the next two years.

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