Kenya's President William Ruto called the treaty “the first domino” in a shift away from plastic pollution. The U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution on land and at sea. Kenya is a global leader in fighting plastic pollution, and in 2017, the country banned the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic bags. Nonetheless, he said, it is evident that negotiations have moved beyond plastic waste and into addressing plastic production and toxic chemicals used to make plastic. “The focus is on ending plastic pollution, not plastic production," he said.

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Persons: Gustavo Adolfo Meza, Cuadra Velasquez, William Ruto, ” Graham Forbes, ” Eirik Lindebjerg, Björn Beeler, haven't, IPEN, Chris Jahn, Karen McKee, Jahn, ___ McDermott Organizations: United Nations Environment, Global, reconvening, Intergovernmental, UNEP, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Plastics, Industry, International Council of Chemical Associations, ExxonMobil, Solutions Company, AP Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Kenya's, Nairobi, Paris, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Norway, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Russia, United States, Baytown , Texas, Baytown, Providence , Rhode Island