University scientists join world leaders at global plastic pollution negotiations
Members of the International Marine Litter Research Unit join the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Kenya
![Five members of the International Marine Litter Research Unit attend the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution meeting in Kenya](https://d3bpgcke55gfwt.cloudfront.net/rails/active_storage/representations/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd3ZYRUE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--2dd9389dea9804a3bda270586a8a01d77024e551/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdDRG9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2RkhKbGMybDZaVjkwYjE5c2FXMXBkRnNIYVFKWUFta0NMQUU2Q25OaGRtVnlld2s2RTNOMVluTmhiWEJzWlY5dGIyUmxTU0lIYjI0R093WlVPZ3B6ZEhKcGNGUTZEbWx1ZEdWeWJHRmpaVlE2REhGMVlXeHBkSGxwVUE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--42754237235ba1e6f9325deaf83c5a2657141cd3/1000040254%20WEB.jpg)
The UN plastic pollution treaty offers a once in a planet opportunity to address this global issue. However, the impacts and the solutions vary among nations, meaning there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reducing production, consumption, waste and litter. If we are to avoid unintended negative consequences it is essential – as national delegations advance their considerations of the text for the Treaty here in Nairobi – that those deliberations are properly informed by independent scientific evidence.
Richard Thompson OBE FRS
Head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit
Marine litter is a global environmental problem with items of debris now contaminating habitats from the poles to the equator, from the sea surface to the deep sea.