Climate Breakfast Seminar Series - Plastics as a driver of climate change: can a treaty be the solution?

Plastics as a driver of climate change: can a treaty be the solution?

Plastics are considered an environmentally friendly alternative to other materials - among other things because of their low weight. Yet the plastic boom is contributing significantly to the increase in greenhouse gases. The production, use and disposal of plastics have enormous impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems and not least on human health. The consequences for the climate, on the other hand, are less well known but just as significant. In this talk, Aleke will present current efforts to develop a new global plastics treaty and will present some thoughts on how it may prevent growing plastic pollution and possibly plastic production along the entire life-cycle of plastic. 

Short bio

Aleke Stöfen-O'Brien is Assistant Professor (Ocean, Sustainability, Management and Governance/Research) at the World Maritime University established under the International Maritime Organisation. Before joining academia, Aleke has gained substantive professional experience at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Health Organisation, the European Commission as well as the Government of Germany. She has been co-convenor of the chapter on marine litter and dumping of the United Nations World Ocean Assessment II and has been serving as delegate/observer to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee towards a global plastic treaty.

Registration

For registration, please click here