The State Dept. today announced that it will hold a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10 to share information and obtain input on the possible launch of negotiations to develop a global instrument to address ocean plastic pollution.
The announcement notes that the United Nations Environment Assembly has been considering how to combat ocean plastic pollution and is expected to discuss the possible launch of a new global instrument to address the topic at its second meeting of the 5th session, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 28 – Mar. 2, 2022.
Input is specifically sought on whether the U.S. should support such a global instrument and if so what the scope and objectives should be, whether it should reflect a top-down or bottom-up structure, how stakeholders other than national governments could play an impactful role, factors that should be considered in negotiating such an instrument, and the types of provisions that would be important, essential, or problematic to include in the instrument.
