Water Institute delegation preparing for UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4) in Ottawa
Increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious global environmental issue that negatively impacts the economic, environmental and health dimensions of sustainable development.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), under a business-as-usual scenario, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from 9–14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23–37 million tons per year by 2040.
In March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly adopted a historic resolution to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The resolution requested the UNEP to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution to develop a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.
From April 23 to 29, 2024 negotiators and interested parties from around the world will meet in Ottawa, Ontario for INC-4, the fourth session of this committee to discuss progress on a plastics treaty. Among them will be a delegation of plastics and microplastics experts from the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo who received special accreditation from the UNEP to participate.
We will have the opportunity to share our expertise in the emerging technologies for mitigating the plastic waste crisis with key decision-makers. I also look forward to learning from stakeholders from across the globe to identify new avenues for our research to address the global plastic waste crisis.
Water Institute delegates hope to see a strong effective treaty emerge that is based on scientific consensus and will meet the global scale of the plastics crisis. This requires reducing virgin plastic production, banning the use of highly concerning chemicals in plastic production, and establishing a global framework for monitoring and reporting of plastic pollution. Improved waste management and recycling alone will not solve a problem of this magnitude.
The delegation will also attend a partnerships event hosted by the Government of Canada and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that highlights the importance of research and innovation. The event will shine a light on the role of the treaty in shaping global policy and provide an opportunity to develop shared treaty ambitions and research priorities. Speakers include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minster of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, the Executive Director of UNEP, Inger Anderson, and President of WWF International, Adil Najam.
The Water Institute delegation to UNEP’s INC-4 includes:
- Philippe Van Cappellen, Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate in Ecohydrology
- Elisabeth Prince, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
- Nancy Goucher, Water Institute Knowledge Mobilization Specialist
- Stephanie Slowinski, Research Biogeochemist, Ecohydrology Research Group
- Cassandra Sherlock, PhD student in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability
Listing Photo: Plastic debris from a river in Indonesia by The Ocean Cleanup