Just transition and inclusion: overcoming socio-economic barriers and driving a circular transition for a global plastics treaty
Social inclusion is necessary for economic just transition, along the full plastics value chain, to create a circular economy. Yunus Environment Hub, GIZ, IUCN and IUCN WCEL have created a short 2-page resource document, with a strong call to action, to highlight key points as the world moves into the final Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee meeting (INC-5) for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
A just transition framed within a human-rights-based approach offers opportunities for all. Beyond the climate context, there are intersections between environmental concerns, biodiversity protection, and achieving just transitions across a variety of sectors linked to plastics and the full plastics value chain.
A socially inclusive just transition is the key to achieving synergies with the Paris Agreement NDCs (UNDP, 2022), the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and the creation of holistic policies and measures which work towards social, environmental, and economic integration ambitions.
The global plastics treaty should elevate just transition from a secondary consideration to a core guiding framework for the circular transition by integrating holistic, ethical solutions benefiting people and planet. This can be done through the retention of the proposed, dedicated article on just transitions in the treaty text as well as by mainstreaming just transitions throughout the treaty text, from binding and voluntary requirements to reporting, oversight and compliance mechanisms.