SUSTAINABILITY

Circular Economy. On January 27 and 28, the special session of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Costa Rica. The event addressed issues such as the integrated implementation of multilateral environmental agreements and recognition of the seriousness of pollution generated by plastics. The ministers had the opportunity to exchange ideas for the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5), which is being held until March 2 in Nairobi, Kenya. Among the items discussed prior to the UNEA-5 session, Peru’s proposal on the creation of a binding instrument on plastic pollution and a circular economy initiative were reviewed.

Although a final document has not yet been drafted, one of the Forum’s proposals is to make the region a leader on environmental issues, and to address regional cooperation on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. On this point, the ministers recognized the need to promote actions to reduce plastic pollution and promote circularity, among others. They also discussed measures to strengthen the financing of environmental action.

The occasion also provided an opportunity for the ministers to discuss the content of two texts to be presented at UNEA-5. The first is a proposal on mass-use plastics, which proposes the establishment of an intergovernmental negotiating committee empowered to negotiate a binding global agreement to address pollution from these materials. Its objective is to reduce discharges of plastics into the environment by preventing and reducing pollution through a circular economy approach. It should be noted that, due to the breadth of the wording of the regulation, it includes plastic food and beverage packaging.

It covers the entire life cycle of plastics, from production and consumption to waste prevention, management and treatment. It also proposes to promote national action plans on the subject and to address product design, including sustainable alternatives.

On the other hand, the future debate on the draft resolution that will seek to promote the circular economy at the global level was also highlighted. This calls on the Member States of the United Nations to adopt national and regional strategies on circular economy, to transform their national markets by including products that promote direct reuse and to encourage sustainable consumption and production. At this point, it indicates that these initiatives should be developed including different sectors, such as the private sector.

Next steps

The Latin American countries will take to the UNEA-5 the proposal to create an intergovernmental negotiating committee for the creation of a binding global treaty against plastic pollution, as well as the resolution that calls for the integration of the circular economy into national development plans. Both initiatives provide for private sector funding for their operation.