Are current global policies enough to rid the world of its plastic crisis? How far are our governments from implementing immediate and long-term solutions to sustainably managing plastic waste? 

Participants were informed about the updated global landscape of plastics policy on the subnational, national, and international levels as UNDP ocean innovator Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions launched the inaugural Annual Trends in Plastics Policy: A Brief. It is now available in English here: https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/plastics-policy-inventory.

The updated report highlights key trends and gaps in government approaches to plastic pollution, including initial observations on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the development and implementation of policies intended to address plastic pollution. The report provides details on which plastic types are and are not being targeted and the types of instruments governments are commonly using. It comes as global policymakers convene during UNEA 5.2 to set an agenda for the development of a global plastics treaty and consider the capacity that each member state has to implement comprehensive plastics policy.  

Presenters walked participants through the various resources that are available on the Global Plastics Policy Inventory including the 20 Years Report, ten country case studies, and a methods brief for replicating policy research in specific countries. 

To conclude the presentation, Duke University discussed their next steps for research and how they hope these can support stakeholders of plastic pollution solutions.  

The remaining time was dedicated to addressing questions from the audience. 

The recordings are available here: 

• English (Due to a technical issue while recording the English channel, we are only able to share Rachel's presentation that she, fortunately, recorded from a dry run. Many thanks to Rachel for sharing this copy to us.)
• French
• Spanish

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The Global Plastics Policy Inventory ocean innovation, including the Report, country-case studies and methods brief, is a UNDP-supported innovation through its Ocean Innovation Challenge funded by Sida and Norad. It is one of the eight cutting-edge solutions selected from more than 600 proposals to implement a wide range of technological, policy, regulatory, and other innovative approaches to reducing marine pollution (SDG 14.1). 

Find out more about Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.