As global Plastics Treaty negotiations failed to reach consensus, cities and regions cannot wait. Read four takeaways to guide local action against the plastic waste piling up daily in cities.
The Republic of Korea hosted INC-5, bringing national governments together to forge a global treaty to end plastic pollution. This initiative began at the 2022 UN Environment Assembly with the adoption of Resolution 5.14 titled: End Plastic Pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument.
The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) to develop a Global Plastic Treaty concluded without an agreement, pushing further negotiations into 2025 – prompting the Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution to advocate for stronger inclusion.
This blog was written in collaboration with Ariel Dekovic, Charis Hoffmann, Kobie Brand, and Togo Uchida from ICLEI. In early 2022, during the resumed Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2), nation states agreed to establish a binding global plastics treaty by 2024, which should work towards ending plastic pollution. The process to arrive at such…
ICLEI South Asia and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) organised the Daring Cities webinar on ‘Enabling Circular Economy Through Reduction and Scientific Management of Plastic Waste’ to discuss the opportunities offered by circular economy measures to address the growing plastic waste menace. Watch here. Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia, set…
Water is a “blue thread” connecting human rights, the SDGs, and the three Rio Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and land. Embedding water resilience into urban planning is not optional; it is essential for climate-smart, inclusive, and livable cities, and local and regional governments are already delivering. Explore how we are supporting them to step up to the challenge and scale their impact.
As countries race to finalize a global plastics treaty by the end of 2025, a critical round of negotiations is underway in Geneva, Switzerland. From production limits to toxic chemical bans, what’s on the table and why must cities have a seat at it?
Local and regional governments are paying attention to the multilateral oceans agenda because of the myriad ways life in coastal cities, towns and regions depends on the health and sustainability of our oceans.
How can we ensure tourism not only thrives but also helps protect our planet?
What if your coffee cup or takeout container didn’t end up in the trash, but went back into circulation, reducing waste, cutting emissions, and sparking local innovation and green jobs? Explore lessons from the Circular City Labs project.
As we begin a pivotal year, many global north countries are facing elections and leadership changes, testing the world’s commitment to sustainable development. Last year, we witnessed several key global processes needing to continue into 2025 – like the biodiversity negotiations and the Plastics Treaty – or delivering a disappointing lack of ambition, such as the climate COP. Here are the ten things we’re watching for in 2025 regarding the global sustainability agendas.
Hundreds of cities’ representatives and their partners have come together at the Daring Cities 2024 to exchange solutions and discuss their strategies to tackle the climate emergency. How does this translate into practice? The event showcased many real-life cases that offer inspiration for other local and regional governments to dare to take bold, transformative steps forward