MAYOR CANTRELL TO TRAVEL TO NAIROBI, KENYA FOR UNITED NATIONS INC-3 MEETING
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell today will travel to Nairobi, Kenya for the third session of the United Nations' (UN) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) Meeting to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
“I am elated to join fellow local leaders and community advocates from around the world on the road to ratifying an ambitious, binding global treaty to stop plastic pollution,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “This invitation speaks directly to New Orleans’ position as a global leader in combatting the ongoing climate crisis. For the past century, our region has served as the ‘gas station’ of the United States, with companies cutting through our coastline and drilling off our shores for energy and petrochemical manufacturing. It is now more important than ever that we work with other communities impacted by this detrimental process and take collective, global action towards eliminating high-risk plastic and microplastic materials and producing more clean energy. Through this international convening of leaders, we aim for immediate and necessary global support to scale these necessary solutions and create a healthier and more sustainable future for generations to come.”
In conjunction with the UN’s INC-3 Treaty negotiations, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Beyond Petrochemicals are aligned on the need to create an ambitious and robust global treaty that helps reimagine the way we source, design, use and dispose of plastic to effectively eliminate negative impacts of plastic across the lifecycle.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, Mayor Cantrell will participate in a speaking engagement alongside Vice Governor Dr. Mei Ling Quezon-Brown of Siquijor Province in the Philippines and organized by WWF and Bloomberg Philanthropies-Beyond Petrochemicals. The session, titled, “Local Impacts, Local Solutions: Cities Leading the Way,” will include 200-300 attendees representing various governments, businesses, civil society organizations, scientists, youth, media and other stakeholders and will emphasize plastics’ impact on health and climate, as well as the need for a just transition.
In March 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The resolution requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an INC to develop "the instrument," which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.
The INC began its work during the second half of 2022, with the ambitious goal to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024. The first session of the INC (INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2, 2022, followed by a second session (INC-2) in Paris from May 29 to June 2, 2023. The third session (INC-3) is now scheduled to take place at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The fourth session is scheduled to take place in Ottawa, Canada in April 2024.
Mayor Cantrell will return to New Orleans on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
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