The clapping and cheering of delegates attending the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024 was, if understandable, unwarranted. It brought to my mind an often-misquoted quip from Mark Twain, who, when asked if rumors that he was dying were accurate, supposedly said something like: "The reports of my death are premature and exaggerated." To be sure, the 175 or so delegates to the UN Assembly in Nairobi earlier this year had a lot to be proud of. Heads of state, ministers of the environment, and other government and NGO representatives endorsed a landmark anti-plastics agreement, which they characterized as addressing "the full lifecycle of plastic from source to sea." In a joint statement of support and congratulation, the World Wildlife Fund and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation called the UNEA endorsement "a key moment in the effort to eliminate plastic waste and pollution on a global scale. The mandate agreed by UN member states opens the door for a legally binding treaty that deals with the root causes of plastic pollution, not just the symptoms. Critically, this includes measures considering the entire lifecycle of plastics, from its production, to product design, to waste management, enabling opportunities to design out waste before it is created as part of a thriving circular economy." Many plastics industry officials are not so giddy.
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