New Report from Earth Law Center Advocates for Ocean Justice in Global Plastics Treaty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 29, 2024

Contact:

Rachel Bustamante (rbustamante@earthlaw.org) 

New York, NY (February 29, 2024), Today, Earth Law Center (ELC) released a groundbreaking report: Advancing Ocean Justice in the Global Plastics Treaty. The report advocates for a justice-centered approach to the treaty on plastic pollution, which is currently being negotiated by the United Nations and is expected to be complete by the end of 2024. 

The latest draft treaty text (Revised Zero Draft), prepared by the Secretariat of the International Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC), lacks a binding obligation to protect human rights. ELC’s report emphasizes that ocean justice—comprising the protection of the ocean, the fulfillment of human rights, and the progression of social equity—is crucial for achieving an effective agreement. With the next round of negotiations scheduled for April in Ottawa, Canada (INC-4), this report can serve as a vital advocacy tool, highlighting how the full lifecycle of plastics disproportionately harms the ocean and marginalized communities and thus demands a response grounded in justice.

“The importance of embedding justice within this treaty cannot be overstated,” said Rachel Bustamante, Ocean Program Director at ELC. “The plastic lifecycle jeopardizes every Sustainable Development Goal, contributes significantly to global climate change, and threatens human rights worldwide. How equitable and just this treaty turns out to be will have undeniable implications for people, the ocean, and truly, the planet.” 

The Report introduces ocean justice and maps the communities most affected by the lifecycle of plastics, including Small Island Developing States, Indigenous Peoples, People of Color, the Global South, youth, and other marginalized communities. While plastics impact every human being, it is clear that disproportionate negative impacts occur across race, occupation, ethnicity, class, gender, and age.

Additionally, the report features a map illustrating country-level support for including human rights in the treaty, revealing notably stronger endorsements across the African and Latin American regions. 

In 2022, the UN General Assembly took the monumental step of recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment,” said Ciara Shea, environmental lawyer at ELC. “The plastics treaty now is an important opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen that position by aligning every provision with human rights.”

In terms of toxicity, pollution, and economic harm, plastics have been anything but just. Yet the current draft of the treaty does not contain a single instance of the word "justice," much less a substantive incorporation of justice principles and human rights. A central part of the Report findings includes the results of a survey conducted by ELC to representatives of government, nonprofit organizations, academia, and business. Notably, 86.5% of respondents supported environmental justice and 71.2% supported Rights of Nature to be guiding principles of the treaty. Other recommended principles of law include Indigenous Knowledge, polluter pays, intergenerational equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.  

When asked about the significance of young professionals leading this report, Bustamante, herself a Gen-Z ocean policy analyst, commented: “Youth are among the strongest advocates for an interconnected view of ocean protection, fossil fuel phase-out, and support for vulnerable communities. This perspective has thus far been in the shadows of the plastics treaty, but these crises are intertwined whether we acknowledge it or not. We call upon the INC to center youth voices and for Member States to advance ocean justice at INC-4.”

“This project opened my eyes to the critical need for ambitious and strong language to curb plastic pollution,” said Collin Oliver, an ELC environmental intern and recent university graduate. “Plastics are fossil fuels, and the full lifecycle not only accounts for 3-8% of global greenhouse gas emissions but also releases harmful chemicals and microplastics into the environment and frontline communities.”

The second half of the Report provides textual recommendations for the treaty, offering a roadmap for embedding justice throughout its articles. This section covers issues such as microplastics and a just transition and cites numerous relevant case studies. Audrey Danthinne, an ELC environmental jurist, affirmed, “To ensure a just transition, the treaty must adopt a whole-of-society, justice-centered approach, ensuring that no one is left behind.” 

It's not too late for the remaining treaty negotiations to help produce a meaningful turning point in humanity's relationship to plastics. ELC's Report fills a critical gap in advocacy, offering a roadmap toward a plastics treaty that ensures justice for the ocean and affected communities, protecting human rights and progressing social equity.

Image Credit: NOAA, Unsplash.com

Earth Law Center
(www.earthlawcenter.org) Earth Law Center (ELC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to advance ecocentric laws, policies, and governance for the well-being of the Earth Community. ELC aims to mitigate the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and degradation of ecosystems and to restore a flourishing Earth Community on behalf of present and future generations of all species. ELC is a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Plastic Pollution Coalition, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the High Seas Alliance.