"The overlapping crises of our time present an opportunity to build more resilient cities by implementing zero waste models.
This submission details the myriad ways that plastic pollution violates human rights at every stage from extraction to disposal, and identifies the specific groups most impacted. The reader can also find proposals for how to address these human rights abuses through policy fora such as the Basel Convention and the plastics treaty, and regional and national policy, emphasizing an inclusive, Just Transition approach.
GAIA proposes the following material economy shifts as solutions for the roadmaps to deliver a Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in a Just, Orderly and Equitable Manner, as well as Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030:
-solutions to shift the material economy from single-use to reuse:
-a declining cap on plastic production;
-removing plastic polymer production subsidies;
-deploying reuse and refill systems;
-and, ending the burning of biomass and waste.
This briefing, developed with the support of more than 70 civil society organisations ahead of OEWG-15 to the Basel Convention, outlines why textile waste has become a major governance gap in the global waste trade system. It highlights serious concerns for environmentally sound management and calls on Parties to the Basel Convention to close this loophole by subjecting textiles to stronger international oversight.
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