Author: Rachel Cernansky
The world has been inching towards a deal to tackle plastic pollution, and the release of a rough draft of the Global Plastics Treaty by the United Nations Environmental Assembly and the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Monday marked the latest step toward that goal. Under a resolution agreed last year, 175 nations will sign a legally binding deal by the end of 2024. The treaty has the potential to be groundbreaking, environmental experts say, if the more ambitious options, such as limiting total plastic production, win out in the final text. If they don’t, it could turn into yet another agreement that promises a lot in theory but is meaningless in practice.