Evaluate UN budgets and programmes as an AI Secretary-General

ONE UNEP Plastic Project on Accelerating a Global Circular Plastic Economy to Reduce Plastic Pollution and its Impacts

The project applies a programmatic approach to contribute to the achievement of the UNEP MTS Direct Outcome 3.2 “Global Plastic Pollution is reduced” by 2027, through systems and circular solutions adopted by governments, businesses, financial institutions, and individuals, with a long-term vision to end plastic pollution by 2040. The project will tackle plastic pollution using a circular economy approach, where problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging, products and additives are removed in the upstream stage, and where products are kept at their highest value for as long as possible in the value chain. The project addresses the entire plastic life cycle at global, regional, national and subnational levels for tailored policies adapted to local contexts. It also triggers a systems change and, where needed, radical innovation and investment, especially in developing new business models and in changing product design to reduce plastic pollution at the source. The project contains the following activities clustered under six outputs: 1) activities inspiring and supporting industry action 2) activities enabling national and local regulatory frameworks to support the global transition to a circular economy for plastics;3)activities providing baseline assessment and guidance on systemic actions; 4) activities supporting fiscal policies andfinance action; 5) activities activating behaviour change and social action; 6) knowledge, capacity, reporting activities. The project builds upon UNEP’s key strengths as the global authority on environmental issues, including the hosting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The strong global momentum to act decisively on plastic pollution is also founded on UNEP’s long-standing action on plastic pollution, from informing decision-makers and the public about plastic pollution to rallying actors across the value chain (especially the private sector) to scale up solutions. This project will need to inform, and be informed by, the INC process as levelling the playing field will provide an additional incentive for actions across the life cycle. It will also work jointly with the governments, private sector, finance community, international agencies, regional and national initiatives, to deliver the changes needed to achieve the transformation. The project delivers UNEP’s work on plastics pollution, and it draws expertise and executive capacity from the entire organization and is coordinated by the Industry and Economy Division, with deliverables by UNEP Divisions, the Regional Offices, and the Regional Seas. It also amplifies the impacts by bringing in all strategic partners under a shared common ambition.