UNEP Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution

SPE members now have an opportunity to participate in the UNEP Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution.

Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) applied for, and was recently granted, accreditation with the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). SPE was accredited into the UNEA’s “scientific and technological community.” To date, only eighty-seven organizations worldwide have received accreditation into this community, only twenty-five in the US.

Accreditation provides non-governmental organizations with observer status to the Assembly, which includes the opportunity to participate in the work of the UNEA and of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In 2022, UNEP convened an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, whose purpose is to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The “instrument," is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.

Through its accreditation, SPE is now a fully participating member of this Committee, and has the opportunity to:

• Participate in the Regional Consultation Meetings, in preparation for the Assembly; 
• Contribute to the preparation of Regional Civil Society Statements towards UNEP and the Assembly;
• Receive unedited working documents of the United Nations Environment Assembly at the same time as the Committee of the Permanent Representatives (CPR);
• Submit to the UN Environment Secretariat written contributions to these unedited working documents for distribution to the Governments through the Committee of the Permanent Representatives (CPR); and
• Participate in the public Meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the Assembly and the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum, an associated meeting of the UN Environment Assembly (including via tele- or video conference).
• Circulate written statements to Governments, in the form of information documents through the UNEP secretariat; and
• Make oral statements during the discussions of the United Nations Environmental Assembly of UNEP.

SPE President Conor Carlin invites all SPE members who wish to participate in UNEP’s work through SPE to sign up here. 

By signing up, you will:

• Receive “insider” updates on the work of the UNEP through SPE’s official representatives;
• Have an opportunity to provide science-based input on matters relevant to this body’s deliberations; and
• Participate in the crafting of any statements to the UNEP made on behalf of SPE and its members.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact SPE President Carlin at ccarlin@4spe.org.

Sign up here.

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