Ahead of the fourth round of negotiations for an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, financial institutions are invited to sign the to call on governments for an ambitious agreement that will enable the private finance sector to play its role in ending plastic pollution.
The surge in the production and consumption of plastic has led to a significant increase in plastic waste and pollution, projected to grow to well over 250 million metric tons annually by 2040 under business-as-usual. Plastic pollution exacerbates the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and also poses a growing threat to human health and economic stability. It demands an urgent and coordinated response from the international community.
In 2022, a was adopted by UN Member States to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. But the end of plastic pollution requires a systemic change facilitated by the redirection of financial flows. While the finance sector is increasingly stepping up to the plastic pollution challenge by addressing system-level risks in line with internationally agreed frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, voluntary action is not enough.
To demonstrate financial sector support for an ambitious international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, UNEP FI, PRI, Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and CDP, opened in February 2024 the Finance Statement on Plastic Pollution for signature. Through this statement, institutions can signal to governments worldwide how urgent it is that Member States agree an ambitious plastics treaty that creates the mandatory framework and the enabling environment for the private finance sector to fully play its role in ending plastic pollution.
All financial institutions including investors, asset managers, asset owners, banks, and insurance companies, as well as financial industry associations and other finance-related initiatives are invited to sign the statement. The statement with its full list of signatory organisations will be publicly announced to negotiating Member States during the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4) from 23-29 April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada.
Sign the statement by 10 April 2024
For more information, read our or contact Jan Raes or Peggy Lefort. You can also watch the recording of the webinar where UNEP FI presented the statement together with partners and members of the Finance Leadership Group on Plastics, a core group of banks and insurers providing input for the development of the international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution and building readiness in the private finance sector.