Elsevier

Environmental Science & Policy

Volume 100, October 2019, Pages 94-104
Environmental Science & Policy

Plastics at sea: Treaty design for a global solution to marine plastic pollution

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.06.005Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Marine plastic pollution requires international cooperation.

  • Treaty design influences the success of environmental regulatory regimes.

  • Seven treaty elements can improve the success of a marine plastic pollution treaty.

Abstract

Treaty design is a key determinant of success for environmental regulatory regimes. Well-designed treaties incentivise participation, reward compliance and deter non-compliance among the parties to the agreement. The design process can also positively affect interactions between states and help shift national perspectives and interests during negotiations. Based on treaty design evaluations of the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols, a review of existing measures to curb plastics at sea, and expert interviews, this study identifies seven treaty design elements likely to improve the success of a future legally binding mechanism to address marine plastic pollution. These include: a) the adoption of a principle of common but differentiated responsibilities; b) an adequate scope considering land- and sea-based sources, as well as chemical additives and all stages of the lifecycle of plastics; c) issue-linkage to international plastics trade; d) a financial mechanism to support implementation measures; e) built-in flexibility to adapt to changes; f) effective monitoring, reporting and review procedures; and g) enforcement through incentivising compliance and deterring non-compliance. Developed out of an inclusive treaty negotiation process, these elements can help overcome current governance challenges regarding the elimination of marine plastic pollution.

Introduction

An estimated 150 million tonnes of plastics have accumulated in the world's oceans and the problem has been compounded by overloaded waste management and recycling systems that are unable to cope with rising plastic production (Jambeck et al., 2015). Marine plastic pollution has consequences on the environment and biodiversity, industries including tourism, shipping and fishing, and represents a potential risk for food security and human health (Barboza et al., 2018). These negative effects often span beyond national borders, and as such, a solution to marine plastic pollution requires international cooperation. Efforts have so far failed to adequately address the problem. A legally binding mechanism on the global level could overcome some challenges of marine plastics governance. International law is based on the consent of all parties to the agreement (Henkin, 1979), but the treaty-making process allows parties to “weigh the benefits and burdens of commitment and explore, redefine, and sometimes discover their interests” (Chayes and Chayes, 1993).

This paper suggests that treaty design influences the success of international regimes through its ability to incentivise participation, reward compliance and deter non-compliance among parties. The study involves a literature review of the emergence and maintenance of international regimes focused on the treaty designs of the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols. Further, it provides an overview of the consequences of plastics at sea and existing measures to curb marine plastic pollution. As literature on the treaty design of a potential Global Plastics Treaty is limited, interviews provided a valuable addition to the analysis. Experts from academia, non-profit and for-profit organisations were selected based on their expertise on marine plastic pollution, international law, multilateral agreements, and ability to inform about current initiatives. The analysis points to seven treaty elements that can contribute to a successful legally binding international mechanism to address marine plastic pollution: a) the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, b) an adequate scope to address the problem by including land-based and sea-based sources, as well as chemical additives and all stages of the lifecycle of plastics, c) issue-linkage to international plastics trade, d) a financial mechanism to support necessary implementation measures, e) flexibility to adapt to changes, f) effective monitoring, reporting and review procedures, and g) enforcement through incentivising compliance and deterring non-compliance. These findings can contribute to the success of future negotiations regarding the elimination of plastic pollution at sea.

Following this introduction, Section 2 contrasts the relative success of two international environmental regimes seeking to solve transboundary pollution problems - the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols - and identifies how their treaty designs contributed to their respective success and failure. Section 3 provides an overview of the impacts of marine plastic pollution and challenges for global marine plastics governance. Section 4 examines recent efforts to solve the problem of marine plastic pollution and displays gaps in the current governance structure that could be overcome with a global mechanism. Section 5 identifies and discusses seven necessary elements for a future international treaty to address marine plastic pollution. The conclusion sums-up the findings and provides an outlook for an international treaty on plastic pollution.

Section snippets

International treaties to solve transboundary pollution problems

Several factors contribute to the success or failure of international regimes for environmental protection in relation to transboundary pollution problems (Dietz et al., 2003). Success of an international regime is defined here as the achievement of the intended outcome in addressing the stated problem. This occurs when the regime a) changes behaviour of states (participation and compliance), and b) has the intended impact. Factors that influence the outcome of an international regime include

Plastics at sea

The problem of plastics at sea first emerged on the international agenda in the 1960s in relation to the ingestion of plastic items by sea birds and is now understood as one of the major transboundary pollution issues (Chen, 2015). Global plastic production in 2017 amounted to about 335 million tonnes (Plastics Europe, 2018) and estimates from 2014 predict a doubling of global plastic production within 20 years (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). Waste management measures cannot cope with the

Ocean governance and pollution control

The problem of marine plastic pollution is not recent and, as will be discussed below, various measures have already been undertaken at local, national, regional, and international levels (Chen, 2015). Despite existing efforts, however, the amount of plastic waste continues to increase and plastic leakage into rivers and oceans persists. The United Nations Environment Assembly (UN Environment, 2017) describes the current framework to tackle marine plastic litter and microplastics as “fragmented

Global plastics treaty design options

Treaty design matters to the functioning of related institutions and treaty outcomes (Rosen, 2015). Adequately chosen design elements can contribute to the success of a treaty. Beyerlin et al. (2007) argue that sound treaty-making is required to ensure compliance, but will fail when it is aimed at a wide range of environmental issues and does not suit to the situation at hand. This section identifies design elements that need to be included when drafting a Global Plastics Treaty to manage the

Conclusion

Marine plastic pollution is a key transboundary environmental problem affecting the environment, biodiversity, coastal communities and marine industrial sectors, as well as posing potential food security and human health risks. Stakeholders on local, national, regional and international levels have undertaken efforts to prevent marine plastic pollution – but failed to adequately address the issue. Considering the challenges of marine plastic governance, an international legally binding

Funding

This work was supported by the University Alliance for Sustainability.

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