John,
Global leaders are about to head to Canada for the next-to-final negotiating session on the international plastics treaty. This convening of the United Nations is one of the last opportunities for countries to advocate for a treaty that cuts plastic pollution at its source: production from fossil fuels.
There’s just one big problem. The United States is threatening to water down its commitment to a future free of plastic pollution and let Big Oil and Big Plastic take the wheel.
There’s no time for backsliding. In treaty negotiations, the United States must push for plastic production cuts.
Nearly 100% of plastic is made from oil. At every stage of its lifecycle, plastic emits dangerous greenhouse gases, sickens wildlife and people, and pollutes water, air and soil. Scientists have found plastic in people’s lungs, blood, liver, kidneys and reproductive organs — and recently linked micro- and nano-plastics in humans to higher risks of heart attacks, strokes and death.
Countless animals, from tiny barnacles and massive blue whales to all seven species of marine turtles, have also ingested plastic or been entangled in it. In a 2018 study one seabird, a Tristam’s storm petrel in Hawai`i, was found to have 615 plastic pieces in its body.
The world wants an ambitious plastic treaty. It’s time for the United States to step up as a global leader and make good on its commitments to protect the planet from plastic pollution.
Tell U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to do everything he can to support plastic production cuts at the global plastics treaty negotiating session this month.
