Swiss back creation of global body on plastic pollution
The fifth UN Environmental Assembly is set to take place in Kenya starting February 28.
Keystone / Nic Bothma
Some 15 countries, including Switzerland, have proposed the creation of a “Science-Policy Panel” to deal with the threat of chemical waste and plastic pollution. This comes ahead of discussions on a global plastics treaty at the UN Environmental Assembly in Kenya starting on February 28.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Reuters/jdp
“This (proposal) would bring together, like with climate change, the best available science to better understand the threats and risks that we do not fully understand yet,” Switzerland’s Ambassador Franz Xaver Perrez, who is representing Bern at the summit in Kenya, told Reuters. The proposal aims to create an authoritative body similar to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that would study the dangers of chemical waste and pollution.
Perrez warned that chemical waste represented a “more imminent” threat than climate change. A UN report published last week revealed that pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than Covid-19.
More
More
Nanoplastics travel long distances to the Alps
This content was published on
New research suggests that the spread of nanoplastics is a more widespread problem than previously thought.
With climate change “the bigger impact is in the future,” Perrez said. “But the chemicals impact is the immediate future, it’s right now.” There’s currently no global body to assess the scale of the risks.
The proposal is co-sponsored by 14 other countries including the United Kingdom and six African countries. Perrez said the panel could be set up within “one to two years” under the oversight of the Geneva-based World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
More
Archived
How much of a problem is single-use plastic?
In the EU, many everyday single-use plastic items are banned. Should the Swiss adopt a similar law?
The main focus of the UN summit in Kenya is the drafting of a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution, which experts say would be the most important environmental pact since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. There are currently two competing draft resolutions for a treaty. Switzerland has said it supports the stronger version, which would cover all plastic pollution. The weaker version, put forward by Japan, only covers marine pollution.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
Swiss cantons spared duty to create new traveller transit sites
This content was published on
Swiss cantons will no longer be formally obliged by the government to create new transit sites for the travelling community.
Swiss politicians bemoan limited access to EU treaty details
This content was published on
Protests that only a few Swiss parliamentarians will be able to read the contents of a new agreement negotiated with the EU.
This content was published on
For the first time, most Swiss residents favour withdrawing their pension pot as a lump-sum over regular annuity payments.
This content was published on
The cost of buying a home in Switzerland rose by 4.1% year-on-year in the last quarter and by 0.7% compared to the previous three months.
Landslide threatened Swiss village of Brienz faces many more evacuations
This content was published on
The population of the Swiss village of Brienz/Brinzauls isn warned to expect more landslide evacuations in the coming years.
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines will avoid Pakistani airspace until further notice due to rising tension between India and Pakistan.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss cities given mixed ratings for recycling plastic packaging
This content was published on
Efforts to improve plastic recycling in Switzerland have shown a mixed bag of results among cities and towns, ranging from “exemplary” to “no significant effort”.
Are companies and consumers ready to shun plastic?
This content was published on
The massive amount of plastic pollution has ignited public concern as well as debate in Davos, but the real work is still to come.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.