Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. Global plastic production has risen exponentially in the last decades to more than 460 million tons per year, and only an estimated 9% has been recycled. In a business-as-usual scenario, plastic waste is estimated to increase more than 300% by 2060.

That is why ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the Gouvernement du Québec, the Government of Catalonia, UCLG and Partners have launched the Global Coalition of Local and Subnational Governments (LSNG) to end Plastic Pollution and have issued a call for action. The coalition is an international group of local and subnational governments and partner organisations, whose primary goal is to stop plastic pollution and ensure that the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee recognises the critical role that local and subnational governments have in addressing the current plastics crisis.

Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, said, "ICLEI has long promoted multilevel governance as a vital way to collectively tackle our most pressing global sustainability challenges. Through our ICLEI Circulars program, we have supported our constituency to effectively use systems approaches for understanding, planning and managing resources, infrastructure and pollution in their jurisdictions. It is ever more important that considerations from local and subnational governments are taken into account during the negotiations between Member States so that we end up with an ambitious plastics treaty that enables collective action across all levels of government and with all stakeholders."

The Coalition seeks to ensure that the future international instrument on plastic pollution has a high ambition to address plastic pollution, and also create healthy and thriving communities and workforce in line with the principles of a Just Transition, while ensuring a sustainable economy. Further objectives of the coalition include:

• To gather LSNGs support from around the world; creating a common voice to call for an ambitious legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including the rules and regulations needed, as mentioned in the coalition statement. This will ensure that LSNGs are considered in post-INC processes.
• To include the essential role of LSNGs in the future instrument on plastic pollution and key considerations for LSNGs which includes the ambition of the instrument.
• To advocate and raise awareness among Member States to ensure that they acknowledge and take into account the role of LSNGs in the provisions of the treaty.

LSNG representatives are invited to endorse this effort by signing the Coalition Statement. Parties are invited to support the Coalition and help bring the Coalition objectives into their official positions. For more information about the coalition and to read the Coalition Statement, click here.

Read the full announcement here.