Plastics Message Projected in Washington. © Tim Aubry / Greenpeace

Global Plastics Treaty

Plastic is harmful to human health, perpetuates social injustice, destroys our biodiversity, and fuels the climate crisis. We demand that governments commit to a strong Global Plastics Treaty that will cut plastic production by at least 75% by 2040 to stay below 1.5 C and end single-use plastic.

Plastic Consumption in Mexico. © Argelia Zacatzi / Greenpeace

What is the Global Plastics Treaty?

Governments around the world are negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty, an agreement that could alleviate the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss fueled by rampant plastic production. Plastic pollution not only poses a severe threat to human health at an unimaginable scale, but it also worsens racial, gender, and economic inequality globally.

In March 2022, at the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), governments officially agreed to begin negotiations for a global, legally binding plastics treaty that addresses the whole lifecycle of plastics.

Negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty are currently underway, with the initial goal of finalizing the agreement by the end of 2024 — however, a deal has not been finalized yet. Delegates from over 100 countries, representing billions of people, rejected a toothless deal that would have accomplished nothing.

We now have one more chance to make a strong plastics treaty a reality at the next 2025 UN meeting. The treaty has immense potential to set the world on a path toward a plastic-free future, but we need to make sure that it delivers on its promises.

Join the movement

We have a chance to end the plastic crisis by pushing for a strong and ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that cuts plastic production and ends single-use plastic. We know that the petrochemical industry, corporations and some governments will try to weaken the ambition of the Global Plastics Treaty, and here is where the battle truly begins.

Greenpeace has been present at every negotiation, representing you – an unstoppable global movement calling on world leaders to deliver an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that will turn off the plastics tap. We will continue to show up at each negotiation until we end the age of plastic.

Baby Sea Turtle and Plastic on Bangkuru Island, Sumatra. © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

Why do we need a Global Plastics Treaty?

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, with its impacts worsening every day. From extraction as fossil fuel to disposal, plastic pollutes at every stage of its lifecycle. We need a strong Global Plastics Treaty that meets the scale of this crisis and addresses plastic pollution at the source.

Governments must commit to negotiating a strong plastics treaty that protects our climate by keeping oil and gas in the ground and drastically cutting plastic production. Without action,  plastic production is currently set to triple by 2050, potentially consuming up to one-fifth of the world’s remaining carbon budget and undermining efforts to address the climate crisis.

We urgently need governments around the world to implement national policies that push big brands and Big Oil to phase out single-use plastic, invest in reuse systems, and negotiate a strong Global Plastics Treaty that will cut total plastic production and prevent the most dire impacts of a rapidly warming planet.

A strong and ambitious plastics treaty is our best chance for a cleaner, safer future — for our health, our communities, our climate, and our planet.

Greenpeace’s demands:

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