It is clear that equity and a just transition are vital.” “We know that around 75% of waste is generated in cities and approximately 90% of people living in informal settlements do not have access to formal waste collection services, and most often bear the brunt of plastic pollution. This will have lasting benefits for solving the plastics problem that we have, and at the same time lay the foundation for similar organic interventions in other sectors.”įurthermore, the intersection of the plastics challenge at the city level with a just transition was also highlighted by Kobie Brand, ICLEI’s Deputy Secretary General who stated:

“Circular development practices have to be adopted centrally. This was highlighted by Mayor Minna Arve, Mayor of Turku, Finland: The collective message from Mayors was that holistic, just and inclusive solutions to the plastic crisis are urgently needed. The Mayors shared critical issues regarding the plastics challenge with the Executive Secretary. This session was organised under the Global Task Force and facilitated by ICLEI and UCLG, as co-leads of the Local Authorities Major Group (LAMG), which represents local and subnational governments in this space.

The day concluded with a closed-door discussion between Mayors and the Executive Secretary of the INC, Jyoti Mathur-Filipp. We cannot beat plastic pollution if we don’t tackle climate change, environmental loss and food crises at the same time.” “Plastic kills, and the damages of plastic pollution have no borders. The message from the forum was clear, as stated by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo: Local and sub-national leaders from around the world shared their best practices for addressing plastic polluton, from single-use plastic bans in Quezon City, to a women-led initiative in the City of Ambikapur, exchanging plastic waste for meals.

The Forum was co-arranged by ICLEI, UCLG, C40, WWF, GIZ, UN-Habitat and other stakeholders, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. In order to increase visibility and engagement of cities and regional governments in this process, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the City of Paris brought cities and subnationals to the table by hosting the ‘ Paris International Forum to End Plastics Pollution in Cities’ alongside INC-2. Cities Forum ahead of the INC-2 negotiations In the Photo: From left to right: Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, Philippines Pratistha Mamgain, Commissioner of Ambikapur City, India Kobie Brand, ICLEI Deputy Secretary General.

Global cities inc