Canada helps chart roadmap toward an ambitious global deal to end plastic pollution

OTTAWA, ON, April 30, 2024 /CNW/ - The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) wrapped up in Ottawa today, marking significant progress in the development of a legally binding global agreement to end plastic pollution by 2040. As the host country, Canada played a pivotal role in the progress made during this session, setting the stage for international ambition and cooperation at the final negotiating session (INC-5) in the Republic of Korea.

INC-4 brought together thousands of participants from 175 countries from governments, civil society, youth, industry, the financial sector, subnational governments, and Indigenous partners. Canada's delegation was led by the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and by Parliamentary Secretary Julie Dabrusin. Canada's delegation included representatives from National Indigenous Organizations, provinces and territories, and Members of Parliament.

Canada worked with all delegations to land a roadmap, capturing the important progress made to strengthen consensus and bridge gaps among member states. This roadmap includes an agreement for work to continue between negotiating sessions on key topics, the adoption of a legal drafting group, and active and ongoing contributions from Indigenous peoples, civil society, academia, and business representatives. The Ottawa Roadmap confirms there is momentum on reaching a globally binding treaty by the end of the year.

Around the INC-4 events, Canada continued to show that it is doing its part to tackle plastic pollution, both at home and abroad. Minister Guilbeault announced a number of domestic initiatives, including the creation of the Federal Plastics Registry, a new tool to compel plastic producers and other companies across the plastics value chain to help monitor and track plastic from the time it is produced up to its end of life. The Minister also announced over $3.3 million in funding to support Canadian businesses and organizations that are developing innovative and targeted solutions to advance Canada's zero plastic waste agenda.

In addition to these important domestic announcements, Minister Guilbeault, on behalf of the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced that Canada would be providing $10 million in funding for the Global Plastic Action Partnership to support the ongoing development of partnerships in developing countries to tackle plastic pollution, as well as $5 million for the Global Program for the Blue Economy (PROBLUE) to reduce marine plastic pollution, preserve marine biodiversity, promote sustainable economic development, and foster gender equality in coastal economies.

To ensure a diverse and inclusive INC-4, Canada and the World Wide Fund for Nature co‑hosted a high-level Partnerships Day on Earth Day, April 22, and a ministerial session to identify collective opportunities for ambition and galvanize momentum toward successful negotiations. Canada also hosted a Plastic Action Zone, from April 23 to 29, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which offered a public space for partners and stakeholders to host events and share actions, innovations, and experiences to help drive ambition and prevent plastic waste and pollution throughout the life cycle of plastics.

Canada looks forward to working with the Republic of Korea and all nations, Indigenous peoples, civil society, and industry to land a first-of-its kind global plastics treaty in Busan this December.

"Canada is committed to reaching a final negotiated agreement at INC-5 in the Republic of Korea before year end. We are no longer talking about "if" we can get there, but "how." It would mark one of the most significant environmental decisions since the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework. We are doing everything we can to raise the international profile of the plastic pollution crisis so that the agreement gets the global attention it deserves to cross the finish line."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Excessive plastic waste is choking out biodiversity. Canada is taking bold action and making targeted investments to help address this issue in the most vulnerable places in the world, where people depend on healthy marine life and thriving ecosystems for their livelihood and survival. As fellow citizens of this shared planet, we will not stand by. Canada continues to work with partners to reach local communities where help is needed most and where global impacts will be seen for generations to come."
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development

• In 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, Canada and all other United Nations member states agreed to establish the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee with the mandate to develop a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024.
• The fifth and final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from November 25 to December 1, 2024.
• At INC-4, Minister Guilbeault met with a number of key counterparts from around the world, including Brazil, the European Commission, France, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Spain, and the United States. He also met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, the President of World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee. The Minister also spoke with National Indigenous Organizations, civil society leaders, including environmental non-governmental organization leaders from around the world and in Canada, and his provincial counterpart from Quebec.
• Canada is a founding member of the multi-stakeholder platform Global Plastic Action Partnership, which uses biodiversity and gender evidence to inform decision-making by government, businesses, and civil society. This initiative is set to provide a pathway for greater economic benefits for local populations in developing countries through a circular economy.
• Canada's contribution to PROBLUE will help implement the Global Biodiversity Framework by promoting the sustainable use of marine resources while supporting coastal economies in developing countries.

• Canada Brings the World Together in Pursuit of an Ambitious Global Deal to End Plastic Pollution
• Call to Action – Host Country Alliance
• High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution Member States Ministerial Joint Statement for INC-4
• Minister Guilbeault Issues Statement on High-Level Meeting as INC-4 Begins
• The Government of Canada Requires Producers to Take More Responsibility for the Plastic They Put on the Market
• Government of Canada Invests to Support Canadian Innovators to Find Ways to Reduce Plastic Pollution

• Global Plastic Action Partnership
• Fifth Session (INC-5)
• Ocean Plastics Charter
• Canada's Zero Plastic Waste Agenda

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada