Norway plays leading role in negotiations on global plastics treaty
Press release | Date: 23/09/2024 | Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Every week, some 976 kilogrammes of the microplastics floating in the atmosphere fall back to the ground in New York, where the UN General Assembly is opening this week. This is equivalent to 100 000 half-litre plastic bottles. Correspondingly, the weekly amount of microplastics falling from the atmosphere over Oslo equals roughly 5 600 half-litre plastic bottles.
‘There are microplastics in the water we drink, in the food we eat, in the air we breathe and in the natural environment around us. There is an urgent need to reach agreement on an international agreement to combat plastic pollution,’ said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Prime Minister Støre is participating in the UN General Assembly this week, where one of Norway’s key tasks is to build consensus in the negotiations on a global agreement on combating plastic pollution. Norway and Rwanda are leading a group of countries that are seeking to put in place an agreement that is as ambitious as possible.
‘There needs to be greater international willingness to reduce the production of plastics and decrease their spread. Plastics contain a wide array of hazardous chemicals that can be harmful to people, animals and plants,’ said Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of Norway.
The Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU has calculated the volume of microplastics that are carried up into the air and fall back down in the larger cities. Airborne microplastics in urban areas come primarily from car tire debris, as tires release tiny particles of rubber when moving along road surfaces.
‘Airborne microplastics can be transported across long distances. We are finding microplastics everywhere, even in places that do not have local air pollution, such as Longyearbyen in Svalbard and other Arctic areas. Microplastics are an international environmental problem that must be addressed through an effective, global agreement,’ said Ms Tvinnereim.
Plastic pollution has become one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. If the world does not take action, the accumulation of plastic in the environment is expected to increase significantly in the next decades. According to a Nordic report drawn up by Systemiq, production of new plastic could increase by a full 66 %, from 430 million tonnes in 2019 to 712 million tonnes in 2040. Plastic pollution, including the spread of microplastics could nearly double, from 110 million tonnes in 2019 to 205 million tonnes in 2040.
The UN negotiations on a global treaty on combating plastic pollution are set to conclude in Busan, South Korea, and the aim is to finalise a treaty before the end of the year. Plastic pollution is on the agenda of several of the meetings in New York this week. Prime Minister Støre is taking part in a high-level side event to help mobilise political momentum towards securing agreement on an ambitious treaty by the end of 2024. Minister of International Development Tvinnereim is working to build consensus on key issues in the negotiations, and will co-chair the fifth Ministerial Meeting of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution together with Rwanda’s Minister of Environment.