BSS
Bangladesh has strongly rejected the latest draft of the proposed ‘Global Plastics Agreement’ and has demanded stricter measures to curb plastic pollution.
According to UN Environment Council Resolution 5/14, there is a mandate to formulate an internationally legally binding treaty to stop plastic pollution. But the relevant leadership in Bangladesh believes that the draft fails to fulfill this.
This position was expressed at the second session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Plastic Pollution (INC 5.2) held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the draft is weak and inadequate. It excludes supply-side measures. It also does not include mandatory measures to address the full life cycle of plastics, health impacts, harmful chemicals, waste management priorities, and transboundary pollution. On the other hand, it does not mention reliable means for effective implementation. Instead, it relies on a complex and voluntary approach, which ignores the seriousness of the global crisis.
Bangladesh’s leadership, present at the discussion, stressed that the core of the agreement should include controls on harmful chemicals, emissions, and primary production of plastics. The draft does virtually nothing to protect human health and the environment. It is only a waste management framework that exempts producers from liability. And it does not provide any mandatory action to ban the most harmful plastic products. Bangladesh has made it clear that the draft is not supportable without meaningful amendments.
At another event yesterday, Syeda Rizwana Hassan, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forests, Climate Change, and Water Resources, called for a strong global partnership and targeted resources to combat plastic pollution.
At an informal roundtable meeting of INC 5.2 ministers in Geneva, Syeda Rizwana Hasan highlighted the risks for Bangladesh as a downstream country. She noted the need for a global framework to address transboundary plastic pollution.
