Story | 28 May, 2019

IUCN endorses global ‘Oceans Plastics Charter’

At the recent Nature Champions Summit in Canada, IUCN signed onto the Canada-led Oceans Plastics Charter. This five-part plan symbolises global commitment at the highest levels to rethink the world’s relationship with plastics and shift economies towards zero plastic waste.

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Photo: Ocean Plastics Charter

The Ocean Plastics Charter championed by Canada and endorsed by the European Union, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom at the G7 Summit last June, is a landmark agreement outlining concrete steps to eradicate plastic pollution. The Charter recognises the need for urgent action by all sectors of society to address and prevent the far-reaching devastating impacts of marine litter on the health and sustainability of our oceans, seas and coastal communities.

The Charter provides a framework to prevent mismanagement of plastic waste and ensure that plastics are designed to be recovered so they can be reused or recycled. It also highlights the importance of not treating plastic as a single-use product, and includes recycling and recycled content targets and a commitment to reduce unnecessary plastic use and associated waste.

Besides IUCN, the Charter has now been signed by more than 20 countries and over 50 businesses and organisations around the world.

This is a sign that momentum is building around the world to tackle plastic pollution. The Charter is in line with IUCN’s global ‘Close the Plastic Tap’ programme which advocates a lifecycle management approach to plastics. Endorsement of the Charter contributes to this work and will allow IUCN to build on established partnerships and encourage new collaborations to tackle the plastics issue,” said Cyriaque Sendashonga, Global Director, IUCN Policy and Programme Group, after attending the Nature Champions Summit.