Plastic pollution is clogging our waterways, polluting our oceans and contaminating the food chain and water supply. To deal with this crisis of epic proportions, we will need a huge act of international cooperation.
One of the last times the world was faced with an environmental crisis of this scale, ozone depletion, a historic 197 countries came together to sign the Montreal Protocol and ban ozone depleting CFCs. This amazing agreement was the most successful international environment agreement in history and we need the world to come together again to tackle plastics in the same way.
Our oceans are literally choking on plastics. If something is not done, there could be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050 and we could be facing an unprecedented contamination of our food and water supplies. We need action by world leaders to create a plan so that, like the Montreal Protocol, we could be an end to the crisis in 20 years.
Call on global leaders to create and commit to a Montreal Protocol-style agreement on the global plastics crisis.
World leaders are starting to pay attention to the plastics crisis, with British Prime Minister Theresa May leading with a country-wide ban of plastic straws. Not only that, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to bring plastics to the forefront at the next G7 summit in Canada in June. These are significant steps but a problem of this size needs a massive act of international cooperation.
The Montreal Protocol was so successful because countries realized that cooperation was imperative. Sanctions were threatened for countries that didn’t sign on and a plan was put in place to support poorer nations in meeting targets. Now, CFCs have been reduced by 99% globally. Now that we are facing another crisis point for the Earth we need the same commitment from world leaders on plastics.
SumOfUs has been at the forefront of tackling the plastics crisis. When 385,000 caring members like you signed a petition calling on McDonald’s to ban plastic straws in its stores, the fast food giant paid attention. Because of your pressure, McDonald’s recently announced they would phase out plastic straws in all its UK stores. Victories like these show that when we come together to tackle the massive plastics crisis, we can make real change.
More information
From sea to plate: how plastic got into our fish
The Guardian. 17 February 2017.
The Guardian. 17 February 2017.
Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals
The Guardian. 6 September 2017.
The Guardian. 6 September 2017.
Why the Montreal Protocol is the most successful climate agreement ever
South China Morning Post. 26 October 2016.
South China Morning Post. 26 October 2016.
