Marine Plastic Pollution and Social Equity Updates

Ocean Nexus presents Marine Plastic Pollution and Social Equity Updates: Current International Negotiations on Plastics Treaty.
Learn about the developments from the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations and gain first-hand insights from experts actively engaged in the field. We’ll highlight groundbreaking equity-based research, focusing on how indigenous communities in Fiji are uniquely affected by marine plastic pollution. Finally, we’ll introduce our Ocean Nexus Roadmap.
Join us for in-depth exploration into the current pressing challenges of marine plastic pollution and its profound social equity implications. Uncover the urgent need for action that extend beyond cleanup initiatives as we navigate the intricate landscape of ocean pollution and well-being, including global plastics governance and moving towards addressing equitable marine plastic pollution governance.
Speakers:
Trisia Farrelly
Co-Coordinator, Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty
Senior Scientist, Cawthron Institute
Professor and Honorary Fellow, Massey University
Rufino Varea
PhD Scholar, The University of the South Pacific
Steering Committee Member, Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty
Regional Director, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN))
Host:
Yoshitaka Ota
Director, Ocean Nexus
Professor, Department of Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island
0:00 Introductions
12:58 INC-4 meetings updates and takeaways
18:14 Who are the expert groups involved in the science aspect of the plastics treaty?
22:20 Rufino Varea's takeaways from the negotiations
25:18 What was not covered in the INC-4 negotiations?
28:55 Where is the plastics narrative going?
32:56 What do SIDS and Indigenous communities need?
37:51 Narratives about plastics and lack of awareness
40:23 Role of industries
44:09 Voices from island states
49:10 Q&A: What support can universities provide to your work?
51:40 Q&A: What is the expertise that is needed right now for INC-5?
52:31 Q&A: Can you elaborate on how the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” is being discussed at this stage in the negotiations?
54:25 Q&A: What geographical scale should microplastics regulations be implemented on to be most effective?
56:20 Closing remarks