Navigating the Intersection of Climate Change and Ocean Contamination: Addressing Plastic Waste Issues for the Future of the Pacific
Kyounghae Kim
Kyounghae Kim is a career diplomat of the Republic of Korea, having served since 2008. She was a visiting researcher at the East-West Center (May 2023-April 2024).
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the Pacific Islands Development Program or the East-West Center.
Featured photo courtesy of Dustan Woodhouse via Unsplash.
Throughout my career, I have been involved in multilateral diplomacy concerning the environment and climate change. When I was still a junior diplomat in 2013, I went on a business trip to the United Nations to attend a preparatory session for the negotiations on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 global goals adopted by the UN to address social, economic, and environmental challenges and promote sustainable development. I participated in discussions regarding sustainable ocean governance, which has since been encapsulated in Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water. It was during this session that I first witnessed the involved nature of Pacific Islander advocacy. Their efforts to push the agenda of ocean sustainability forward left an indelible mark on me and led me to look more into the region.
Plastic Waste Threatening the Pacific
Due to its geographic circumstances, addressing climate change and ocean contamination is one of the top diplomatic agendas of the Pacific Island region. Plastic pollution is one of the major culprits that threaten the livelihoods of people in the Pacific Islands. According to the recent United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report, around 430 million tons of plastic are produced every year, and two-thirds of those are short-lived products. Among them, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes every day.
Some of the plastic waste in the oceans washes away to the open ocean and ends up being found on the shores of islands in the Pacific. For instance, Kamilo Beach, located on the south-eastern tip of the island of Hawaiʻi (Big Island), is one of the regions hit the hardest by the surge of plastic litter and is often referred to as the “plastic beach.” On this beach, scientists found a new “stone” formed by the melding of melted plastic, beach sediment, lava fragments, and organic debris, and named it “plastiglomerate.” Far in the future, this new type of plastic rock might geologically mark the current era of excess plastic production and consumption.
Harmful Effects of Plastic on Ocean and Climate
Not only does plastic mar the pristine beauty of beaches in the Pacific, but it also endangers marine life and ecosystems. Fish, seabirds, and marine mammals suffer from the ingestion of small plastic objects. Some wildlife are found entangled in abandoned fishing gear or plastic packaging. Moreover, plastic waste threatens coral reefs by depriving them of oxygen and light as well as by causing physical damage to their surfaces. The impacts are not limited to marine wildlife as plastic particles also make their way into the food and water we consume. A growing number of studies have been published on the potentially harmful consequences of micro- and nano-plastics to human health.
On top of these effects, plastic products leave a significant carbon footprint and aggravate climate change. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of plastics represented 3.4% of the global total emissions in 2019. Plastic is made out of fossil fuels and it consumes energy in the production process. It is said that plastic pollution and climate change are two sides of the same coin.
Toward a New Plastic Treaty: A Window of Opportunity
In March 2022, UN member states adopted a historic resolution to develop a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024. Unlike the current patchwork of international regulations on this subject, this new treaty will follow a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics from its product design stage to disposal. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) conducted three rounds of negotiation with the participation of representatives from more than 160 countries and observers from civil society. Since it kicked off the first round in Uruguay at the end of 2022, there have been four rounds of negotiations that have followed with five- or six-month intervals in between each round. The fifth round of negotiation, which is expected to conclude the momentous treaty, will be held in Busan, Korea from November 25 to December 1 of this year.
So far, the international community has largely agreed on the adoption of a scientific approach in determining which materials will fall under the new treaty. They also formed a consensus on the necessity of a transition to a circular economy, a production and consumption system based on the reuse and regeneration of materials and products. However, there needs to be more negotiations over the means of implementation, such as how to finance the transition. I know that representatives of Pacific Island countries are actively participating in this process, as I witnessed in New York 10 years ago.
Pacific Voice for Transition
This is a once-a-lifetime opportunity for the Pacific Islands region to tackle climate change and preserve the Pacific marine ecosystem. It’s a classic example of killing two birds with one stone. I truly hope that the international community comes up with an ambitious, comprehensive, and balanced legal instrument for plastic pollution at the negotiations in Busan. I hope all Pacific peoples will be deeply involved in this process and find success with its advocacy. At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in December 2023, the representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands said “We will not go silently to our watery graves.” Now is the high time to raise the “One Pacific Voice,” which will lead the transition of the Pacific to an era of environmental restoration.
The opinions presented in this work solely reflect the author’s own perspectives and not necessarily those of her affiliated institutions.