New York, USA, September 9, 2024 – Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tony and Grammy winner Bette Midler and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o have joined other actors, athletes and activists to call on world leaders to support an ambitious global plastics treaty, drastically reducing plastic production and ending single-use plastics.
Actors, athletes and activists from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania have signed an open letter to global leaders calling for a strong plastics agreement and “agree to eliminate single-use plastics.” They join the 80% of people who support cutting plastic production, according to a poll commissioned by Greenpeace International.
“As concerned citizens, we support large-scale efforts to reduce single-use plastics, clean our beaches, and separate our plastic waste at home. But none of this is enough. And it hasn’t been enough for a long time. We live in a broken system dominated by single-use plastics, and no solution or policy will be enough unless we also reduce the amount of plastic produced and used,” the letter reads.
The final UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty are scheduled to take place in Busan, South Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024, and are expected to result in a legally binding agreement to curb the global plastics crisis.
Greenpeace is calling for a global plastics treaty to reduce total plastic production by at least 75% by 2040 to protect biodiversity and keep global warming below 1.5°C. More than 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, and production is expected to increase rapidly, making them a major contributor to climate change.
“I won a swimming marathon inspired by my dead dog. Will politicians win a race to Busan inspired by the only planet we have?” Sharon van Rouwendaal, a gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said.
Graham Forbes, Greenpeace USA’s global plastics campaign director and lead negotiator for the global plastics treaty, said:
“Governments should not waste their time listening to the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries that trade our future for profit. World leaders should listen to their citizens and sign a global plastics treaty to reduce plastic production and end single-use plastics, because our health and climate depend on it.”
contact lens:
Angelica Carballo Pago, Media Director, Global Plastics Campaign, Greenpeace USA
[email protected] +63 917 1124492
Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]
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