In a Declaration on a Resilient and Healthy Environment for All adopted today, representatives of the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Union, and Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, and Romania committed to intensifying efforts to address climate and the environment.
Among other things, the Declaration notes the need to address “ocean deterioration” and halt or reverse biodiversity loss, welcomed OECD’s work on the ocean and biodiversity and nature-based solutions (including actions to protect, conserve, restore, and sustainably use and manage coastal and marine ecosystems), committed to championing the adoption and implementation of an “ambitious and effective” post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and invited OECD to enhance protection, conservation, and management of marine and coastal biodiversity and address marine plastic pollution.
As to the latter, the Declaration also commits to developing life-cycle approaches to tackling plastic pollution (including in the marine environment) and promoting robust engagement to develop an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (with an ambition of completing negotiations by the end of 2024).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, who served as co-chair of the meeting that produced the Declaration, said in part that “[a]cross the globe we know that vulnerable communities are often impacted first and worst by pollution and climate impacts, and the OECD will be leading the way in undertaking work dedicated to environmental justice and equity.”
