EIA at 40 – how we led the charge to tackle the world’s rising tide of plastic pollution
In the countdown to EIA’s 40th anniversary later this year, we are featuring previous editions of our newsletter, highlighting our ongoing work to expose environmental crime and abuse.
Today, we’re sharing an edition from 2022 detailing our work to push for a global agreement to tackle the plastics problem.
First encountered as one of the threats facing whales, dolphins and porpoises, our Ocean campaigners soon realised the damage done by plastic pollution was a far wider issue.
As the alarming data about the extent and impacts of plastics kept rolling in, it became clear to us that the plastics problem is a planetary emergency.
In June 2020, we published a ‘thought-starter’ document, gathering all the key data and making a strong case for the world to commit to a robust agreement along the lines of the Montreal Protocol.
The Ocean team used this document to build vital working partnerships with key countries and partners, putting the case for a Global Plastics Treaty squarely before the eyes of governments and decision-makers around the world.
Other reports followed, including Connecting the Dots: Plastic pollution and the planetary emergency, which we released ahead of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) meeting in January 2022. The report concluded that the scale of the threat is an existential one that only a robust global treaty for plastics could effectively address.
After years of anticipation, the UNEA finally got underway. Our team put in incredibly long hours in a whirlwind of briefings and international media coverage.
And having played such a major role in setting the ball rolling on this issue, we were delighted when the assembly confirmed the adoption of a legally binding and ambitious mandate towards a global treaty.
