Greenpeace warns leaders at plastics treaty talks

As world leaders gather for the final Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, ecology activist group Greenpeace says a giant flag featuring thousands of global portraits sends a powerful message: “The world is watching” for decisive action on plastic pollution.

Greenpeace, a leading global environment NGO has put a massive banner at Busan in South Korea to highlight the global challenge of plastic pollution. The protest coincides with the final phase of the crucial Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) meeting for the Global Plastics Treaty, that began in Busan on Monday.

In a press statement, Greenpeace says that it has put up a 10-storey crane, a massive flag featuring thousands of global portraits to convey a clear message ‘We are watching’ to the world leaders discussing the issue.

Greenpeace says that the treaty must end plastic pollution across its lifecycle, protect health and the environment, and set a legally binding target to cut plastic production by 75 pc by 2040.

It adds that the treaty should phase out single-use plastics like sachets, support a transition to a zero-waste economy, and prioritise human rights, health, justice, and reduced inequality.

Greenpeace says that  Dan Acher created the flag featuring diverse faces, including public figures like William Shatner, James Cromwell and João Pacífico.

It adds that these images symbolise a unified call for a treaty to reduce plastic production, eliminate single-use plastics and deliver a clear message: the world is watching.

“The world is watching. This is a make or break moment where governments in Africa and around the world have another chance to agree on an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty  that could solve the planetary crisis brought by runaway plastic production and safeguard our planet, our health and future generations. Will our leaders rise to the occasion or dance to the tune of fossil fuel lobbyists,” says Hellen Kahaso Dena, Pan-African Plastics Project Lead, at Greenpeace Africa.

“As we enter this critical phase of the plastics treaty negotiations, governments must choose meaningful action over fossil fuel and petrochemical interests. A weak treaty is a failed treaty. We need an ambitious legally binding agreement to curb plastic production and end single-use plastics, to protect our health, communities, climate, and planet,” says Graham Forbes, Greenpeace Head of Delegation to the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations and Global Plastics Campaign Lead at Greenpeace USA.

“The ‘we are watching’ flag has become a powerful symbol of global unity in the fight for urgent climate action. From Cape Town to Cairo,  Geneva to Madrid, across the UK and East Asia, this giant flag has carried the faces and hopes of thousands demanding a sustainable future. World leaders, as you gather in Busan to make crucial decisions on plastic pollution: global citizens are asking you to do the right thing. Be on the right side of history  for your children, for our children, for the future of our planet. The world is watching,” says Dan Acher,  the artist behind We Are Watching.