Azul Statement on INC-2 Plastic Pollution Treaty Negotiations in Paris
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For Immediate Release
Friday, June 2, 2023
Contacts (Español/English):
Betsy López-Wagner, López-Wagner Strategies, betsy@equitablecomms.com
Maeve Stewart, López-Wagner Strategies, maeve@equitablecomms.com
Azul Statement on INC-2 Plastic Pollution Treaty Negotiations in Paris
Paris, France (June 2, 2023) – Azul, an environmental justice organization working with Latinxs to protect the ocean and coasts, shares the following statement on behalf of Azul’s Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutierrez-Graudiņš at the conclusion of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) in Paris:
“There is much to be said about the prevailing leadership of Latin American countries on the global stage. In particular, we witnessed exemplary leadership from the Mexico and Ecuador delegations. But with only half of the week spent on substantive discussions, much work remains to achieve a strong, legally-binding plastics treaty.
Our report published by UNEP in 2021 shows that plastic pollution obstructs all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), impedes environmental justice, and threatens the health and human rights of communities across the globe.
Looking ahead to INC-3, we know the plastics crisis requires real governmental action from the U.S. – not expectations of magical reversals. Azul’s U.S. Latinos and the Ocean Poll found that 86% of Latino voters believe plastic pollution will only worsen unless the U.S. government intervenes to curb and prevent it. Our nation’s global leadership will truly be measured by its progress at home. We must hold our nation’s leaders accountable to ensure the will and agency of our communities enduring the greatest burdens are met with the swiftest, most deliberate measures for relief and justice.”
Gutierrez-Graudiņš is an INC observer, part of a group of environmental justice advocates. In 2021, Azul and the United Nations Environment Programme released the report Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Marine Litter and Plastics Pollution which has been a leading resource at global plastic treaty talks.
Azul is an environmental justice organization working with Latinxs to protect the ocean and coasts. It was founded in 2011 to bring Latinxs perspectives and participation to ocean conservation and has long advocated for environmental justice and equity in the state of California, across the nation and at international levels. Learn more at www.azul.org.