The resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment assembly (unea-5. 2) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from February 28 to March 2, 2022. Governments around the world will discuss ways to formulate the first global treaty to deal with plastic pollution.

The Ipsos survey of more than 20000 people in 28 countries showed that since 2019, the proportion of people calling for a ban on disposable plastic products has increased from 71% to 75%, while the proportion of people saying they like products with less plastic packaging has increased from 75% to 82%.

Nearly 90% of respondents said they supported signing an agreement, but whether such an agreement would focus on waste collection and recycling or take more radical measures, such as restricting the production and use of disposable plastics, remains to be seen.

85% of respondents want manufacturers and retailers to be responsible for reducing, reusing and recycling plastic packaging, up from 80%.

In the survey, the biggest support for the ban on disposable plastics came from developing countries such as Colombia, Mexico and India, which are facing a serious waste crisis.

Activists said the results sent a clear message to governments meeting in Nairobi at the end of this month that the first global treaty to deal with plastic pollution must be promoted. The treaty is known as the most important environmental agreement since the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015.

"People around the world have expressed their views. Now governments have the responsibility and opportunity to adopt a global plastic treaty so that we can eliminate plastic pollution," said Marco Lambertini, global director general of WWF

A research report released by the World Wide Fund for nature this month shows that if the United Nations cannot reach an agreement on curbing plastic pollution, there will be widespread ecological damage in the coming decades. Some marine species are at risk of extinction and the ecosystems of coral reefs and mangroves will be damaged.