Building Global Momentum Towards Managing Marine Plastic Pollution Through SDG 14

Abstract

Target 1 of SDG 14 on marine pollution has been instrumental in building momentum towards a coordinated response to the plastic pollution crisis facing the world’s ocean. The 2017 UN Ocean Conference saw a record number of registered voluntary commitments related to stemming plastic pollution, from local grassroots action to scientific research, as well as government initiatives limiting single-use plastics. By the time of the second UN Ocean Conference in June 2022, the UN Environment Assembly had, in March 2022, already adopted a resolution to develop by 2025 an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. This international instrument is currently under negotiation and is facing contentious discussions influenced by petroleum interests. However, the very existence of these negotiations is owed to a large degree to the grassroots momentum built through SDG 14 Target 1 and a growing public concern about linkages between plastic pollution and human health and nascent national blue economies. This article will trace the pathway through which SDG 14 voluntary commitments, from local to global, have led by example while building a global sense of urgency to address the plastic pollution crisis. The article will also provide examples of how local communities and governments have experienced and responded to the crisis. Lessons learned from these local examples will be provided to link local measures and priorities to the global level in a way that can inform how the plastic pollution treaty is both negotiated and implemented.