Jan Kooy is filling in for Andrew today.
Governments negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty should make sure it addresses the role of fossil fuels in plastic production. It should also include human rights protections.
Countries, businesses, and civil society organizations will meet in Paris at the end of this month for a second round of talks on an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
The production, use, and disposal of plastics contribute to the climate crisis and can cause significant harm to the human rights of people around the world, Human Rights Watch said in a question-and-answer document about the human rights impacts of plastics.
The plastic life cycle begins with oil and gas extraction as 99 percent of plastics are made from fossil fuels, which are the primary driver of the climate crisis. Plastics and petrochemicals are projected to drive 30 percent of the growth in oil demand by 2030 and nearly half by 2050.
Improving waste removal and recycling will not end the human rights harm of plastic pollution. Governments need to make sure the new treaty addresses the ultimate source of plastic pollution: the production of fossil fuels.
“The race to tackle the plastic crisis and prevent a climate catastrophe requires every country to tackle these problems at their common source by urgently phasing out fossil fuels,” says my colleague Katharina Rall, senior environment researcher at HRW. “Governments need to work toward a binding legal instrument that addresses the role of fossil fuels in plastic production and includes human rights protections for workers and others whose health is harmed by plastics.”