Ruto rallies world leaders to back Nairobi’s bid to host UN plastics bureau

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 29 — President William Ruto has appealed to world leaders to back Nairobi’s bid to host the Secretariat of the Global Plastics Treaty at the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) offices in Gigiri.

The Global Plastics Treaty seeks to establish a comprehensive framework encompassing accountability standards, financing mechanisms, material and chemical standards, import/export regulations, and ambitious targets to combat plastic pollution worldwide.

Acknowledging UNEP’s pivotal role in facilitating intergovernmental negotiations for the treaty, Ruto urged the global community to rally behind the continent’s aspiration to transition towards a climate-neutral, resource-efficient, and circular economy.

He asserted that the decision to host the secretariat in Nairobi would bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of the environmental body and consolidate efforts to address plastic pollution on a global scale.

“I have reasons for this [proposal]; the current global environmental governance remains fragmented despite the historic agreement at the Rio+20 conference (UN Conference on Sustainable Development), which called for the consolidation of the headquarters functions in Nairobi,” Ruto said Wednesday during the ongoing sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6).

“This governance fragmentation leads to policy inconsistencies, overlaps, inefficiencies and wastage in the administration and implementation of multilateral environment agreement.”

In March 2022, at the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

The resolution requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop “the instrument,” which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.

Taming plastic pollution

The INC began its work during the second half of 2022, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024.

The first session of the INC (INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay from 28 November to 2 December 2022, followed by a second session (INC-2) in Paris, France from 29 May to 2 June 2023.

The third session (INC-3) took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 13 to 19 November 2023. 

UNEP has regional offices in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and West Asia, and 12 sub-regional and programme offices globally.

Ruto stressed the need for UNEP to enhance policy coordination, integration, and coherent implementation of agreements while upholding their respective mandates.

Additionally, Ruto emphasized the importance of UNEP providing regular platforms for the exchange of information, knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned among multilateral environmental agreements and stakeholders, which would foster consensus and strengthen the science-policy connection.

Addressing waste management, Ruto underscored the importance of international collaboration in promoting the adoption of the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” life cycle approaches.

He emphasized their significance in sustaining the blue economy and its ecosystems.

Highlighting Kenya’s proactive stance in banning single-use plastics in 2017, President Ruto reiterated his administration’s commitment to implementing the green economy strategy, aimed at transitioning waste management towards a circular economy model.

Kenya’s ban on single-use plastic bags, which came into effect on August 28, 2017, prohibits their use, manufacture, and importation for household and commercial packaging.