From our oceans to wildlife, plastics are everywhere and pose a major threat to the planet. We’ll discuss how the international community is responding. 

French President Emmanuel Macron calls plastic pollution a “time bomb” for the world. 

The United Nations Environmental Program says plastics are hurting ecosystems, warming the climate and damaging our health.  

In February of 2022, countries agreed in principle on the need for a legally binding United Nations treaty to end plastic pollution around the world. This week, delegates from 175 countries got to work with the second round of talks. 

Joining the discussion: 

• Dianna Cohen is Co-Founder and CEO of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.  
• Michael Shank is the Director of Engagement of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance. 
• Sunday Leonard is the Programme Management Officer for the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel at the United Nations Environment Program. 
• Janaka de Silva is Senior Programme Coordinator for the Global Marine and Polar Programme with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

A U.N. committee met in Paris Monday to work on what is intended to be a landmark treaty to bring an end to global plastic pollution, but there is little agreement yet on what the outcome should be. https://t.co/eMTAxwgUI8

— ABC News (@ABC) May 30, 2023

As talks at INC-2 in Paris wrap, UN Member States agree to develop a first iteration of the treaty text (a ‘zero draft’) ahead of the next round of negotiations taking place in Kenya in November. https://t.co/4WxHFaMctN

— WWF-US Action Team (@wwf_act) June 2, 2023