Don’t let perfection deter action against plastic pollution

The sixth negotiating session of the United Nations Plastics Treaty came to an inconclusive end last month in Geneva. The lack of agreement among 180 countries, however, should not be a surprise and should not be considered a failure. Is the glass “half empty, or half full?” Four years ago, no countries had negotiating teams for plastic pollution issues, as there was nothing to negotiate on collectively. Fast-forward to today, we have had negotiating teams from over 180 countries discussing the best ways to address plastic pollution. For us to expect a global agreement of this scale to be reached within less than three years might well be unreasonable.

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