April 24, 2024 – Today the INC broke into groups to begin the arduous task of editing the zero draft. Even on the second day, the need for quick progress was recognized, and negotiations continued throughout the evening hours. This is when the work becomes a marathon; large delegations have
April 23, 2024 – Today was the opening of INC-4 and began with the opening plenary. The Chair – Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador – asked that delegations not make typical opening statements in order to save time. All the countries that produce oil or plastic precursor chemicals did so
April 22, 2024 – The fourth round of negotiations for the UN Treaty to End Plastic Pollution formally begins tomorrow, April 23rd, here in Ottawa. There has already been enough preliminary activity and speeches to warrant an early update. But it’s not great. As you may recall, ASH and our
Earth Day, first held in 1970, is an opportunity to raise awareness of our fundamental relationship with the environment around us and the vital need to protect and sustain it. The theme for Earth Day 2024 is “Planet vs Plastics,” which is particularly relevant for one of ASH’s most important
March 30th is the International Day of Zero Waste, to draw attention to the lack of sustainability in the way the world currently works. While we may differ on solutions, there is no longer doubt that we can’t keep going like this indefinitely. We are poisoning our planet and thereby
The tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted a series of key Decisions including a decision entitled “Implementation of Article 18 of the WHO FCTC” that addresses the “environmental concerns associated with tobacco.” ASH is a proud supporter of this Decision
November 20, 2023 – INC-3 adjourned on Sunday, November 19th with a decision for the Secretariat to provide a revised zero draft text. The text will be available by December 31, 2023 and will serve as the subsequent document to be negotiated at INC-4, which will be held from April 21-30,
November 17, 2023 – The contact groups continued with the publication of the written submissions and revised synthesis documents. The Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) and its allies spent much of the day reviewing everything as we were able. (Available online for those following along). Today’s debates centered around how and
November 16, 2023 – Contact Groups continued today in the run up to the plenary, which was quite brief. The plenary only included a review of each Contact Groups’ progress and the next steps on the agenda for each group. Contact Groups 2 and 3 have completed their first round
November 15, 2023 – Day 3 brought back-to-back to back Contact Group sessions. The atmosphere is intense with member states eager to maximize their time available in Nairobi for INC-3 negotiations. Today, we also learned that the day would be extended to accommodate another evening Contact Group 1 session. Robust
November 14, 2023 – Per usual INC was off to a slow start, running behind on the agenda which was revised overnight to allow for added plenary time this morning to accommodate additional member state interventions and observer interventions. Despite the delays, we were very pleased to see Panama, Uruguay,
November 13, 2023 – The third negotiating session of the UN Treaty to End Plastic Pollution, held at United Nations Environmental Programme headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya began today, commencing another 7 days of discussion on ways to combat the devasting impact of plastic pollution on our planet. Though we are
Agenda Item 4 of the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC2) Option 2 – Possible core obligation: banning, phasing out and/or reducing the use of problematic and avoidable plastic products I am speaking on
June 2, 2023 – A sense of forward motion. No matter how many treaties have been negotiated throughout history, each one is terra incognita. Planning and agenda setting is imperative but the people drawing up those plans are not seers. Expecting to follow a strict timeline or even using it
June 1, 2023 – Now for the hard part. Today the INC continued in “contact groups” (breakout groups, really). Dividing in two brings the prospect of doubling output. I’m not sure if output doubles, but if it does, it may be less about doubling the conversations and more about halving
May 31, 2023 – Breakthrough!? Day three technically began at midnight as the working group trying to sort out the rules of procedure toiled until 1 am. They reported back to the full plenary at a more reasonable hour this morning with an interpretative statement that they asked to be
Wednesday, 31 May 2023 Delivered by: Christopher Chin, Executive Director, The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE) On behalf of: COARE, the Center for Biological Diversity, Action on Smoking and Health, and Corporate Accountability International Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, dear Colleagues, Ladies, Gentlemen,
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 PARIS, FRANCE – May 31, 2023 – On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, health and environmental advocates gathered at the UN Plastic Treaty Conference in Paris to call for the elimination of cigarette filters. They drew attention to the fact
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 Tobacco Harms Health and the Environment: Urgent Action Needed at the UN World No Tobacco Day is May 31, falling during the second round of negotiations for the UN Plastic Pollution Treaty in Paris, France from May 29 – June 2, 2023
In the last week, government agencies in two countries – the Netherlands and Belgium – have recommended a complete ban on the sale of cigarette filters. First, congratulations to our colleagues for their work in pushing this and supplying research. This could not have happened in a vacuum. Second, congratulations
Oral statement | Action on Smoking and Health | January 31, 2023 Proposed Objective: To protect future generations from the environmental, health and other burdens of plastic pollution. The objective should be simple and avoid qualifiers such as “in accordance with domestic or international law” or “without undue encumbrance on
December 5, 2022 – The first of five Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings for the UN Plastics Pollution treaty is finished. The plan is to approve a final text roughly two years from now, which will be handed over to the UN Environmental Assembly for adoption. Then it will be opened
December 1, 2022 – Today, ASH was able to make a second intervention during the plenary discussions on the role of nongovernmental stakeholders in negotiations going forward. Many thanks to our allies in the environmental coalition for their vital input. Here is our intervention, to give you a taste of
November 30, 2022 – Today, several delegations mentioned the need to ensure basic human rights as we hammer out a treaty to end plastics pollution. This got me to thinking. It should be all about human rights. In the discussions leading up to INC-1, as I’ve mentioned previously, “inclusiveness” has
November 29, 2022 – The highlight of today was a three-hour Multi-Stakeholder Forum. If that title sets off your radar, your radar is well-calibrated. The industries that have caused the plastic pollution problem were given the same platform and respect as civil society groups struggling to stop them. Some were
