We need to change the narrative around pollution, especially plastic.
Although steadily improving, communication about sustainability issues continues to get on my nerves from time to time. In general, they are vague and often do not directly blame a company or its CEO for any environmental disaster. The solutions presented are always individual solutions. As of now, communication still relies on the old CO2 footprint book (developed by the oil industry).
Even feel-good, positive content reinforces this idea that we can only save the planet if we make small changes ourselves. Social media is full of them: videos of people collecting trash on the beach, upcoming start-ups creating coral restoration projects, or a lonely guy planting thousands of trees somewhere.
Although I like feel-good stories and I do think that small actions are very meaningful, this type of narrative shouldn't be so omnipresent. Don't get me wrong, those efforts are worth celebrating, and if they inspire a few people to also follow the same steps, that's even better!
But this kind of messaging conceals a hidden purpose. They transform a multifaceted, global and social-political issue into an individual issue. It leaves those watching with the message: And what about you? What are you doing?
I want to be very clear here. The changes we can make by ourselves, or with a small group of people will always dwarf a simple decision taken by billionaire corporations. In the case of plastic production, for instance, Coca-Cola, Unilever, or Pepsico, have a much bigger influence on the state of our plastic consumption than any of us. These industries continue to choose to use plastic throughout their supply chain. They know about the problem, and they know about the thousands of studies showing how plastic is terrible for humans and the planet's health. Nevertheless, they continue to choose to keep using it. Again, and again, and again.
So, yes, developing a program where fishermen get paid to remove plastic from waterways and the ocean is very appropriate. Getting your friends and neighbors together and cleaning a beach is also helpful, but it's not the only or final solution. And that's how those messages are shown a lot of times.
Can everyone choose to live plastic-free?
Pushing for a plastic-free life for individuals is not only hypocritical, but it is also classist. It doesn't take into account the financial and socio-economic reality of billions of people around the world. People live in poor conditions, in remote areas, sometimes without owning a refrigerator. Asking those individuals not to use or benefit from plastic, because it's their responsibility to do so, is kind of ridiculous.
Even for a middle-class family in a western country, choosing stores that sell natural, organic, and plastic-free food means a substantial increase in costs. A much better solution would be for the government to force companies to use as little plastic as possible in their products. It is also critical for those who are responsible for the plastic to be held accountable after its use.
There are some efforts starting to pop up though. France has just banned plastic packaging for most fruit and vegetables and Spain announced that it will introduce a similar ban in 2023. This will force the industry to find effective solutions and ultimately be far more effective in preventing plastics than our individual efforts.
Other local and regional policies could be created to force companies to choose better materials for their products. Then we as customers would have many more options to choose from. Options that would not necessarily cost more, as is the case now. With more plastic-free products available on the market, eventually, they will become cheaper through competition.
This can be applied to many of the environmental problems we have today. Although the narrative has always centered on personal responsibility, this is not the right approach. Or at least, not the only way. We need broad solutions that will have the biggest results possible for such fundamental problems. We need solutions that will come from industries and governments to have the needed impact.
United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution
Yesterday, a resolution finally came for plastic. In a similar fashion to the Paris Agreement, 193 countries are now bound to find solutions to end plastic pollution. This is good news. Especially because, for the first time ever, we have the mandate to start negotiating a legally binding global plastics treaty. This will incorporate all stages of the lifecycle of plastic pollution in the environment. But, the resolution still needs to be turned into a treaty, which will happen by 2024.
The U.N. negotiating committee will have a multitude of details to wade through in a relatively short time. Among the many items, the treaty will have to tackle reporting standards, financing mechanisms, and, perhaps the thorniest issue, plastic production.
Without strong standards to stop plastic production -which is set to double by 2050, if nothing is done- we cannot expect any major changes to our current polluted world.
To push further actions, we need to change the narrative
Even with a possible upcoming treaty, much remains to be done. We need to ensure that every stage of the plastic cycle is included. Environmental journalists should focus on real solutions and that includes being bold and speaking out against big companies. Even if that means opposing those who finance news outlets.
And we as citizens should resist narratives that offer false solutions or that only promote individual actions. We should hold our politicians accountable, vote for those that will do something positive for the environment, and mobilize to do that. We need collective action, not individual action.
When we see news of environmental disasters, we should always ask who is really to blame. Especially since even if we are able to choose what brands to consume, we cannot be 100% sure if the products are done environmentally correctly. Our task is to hold companies accountable for what they do when they choose to take questionable environmental decisions, ultimately to increase their profits.
That does not mean I'm against people living life as ethically and conscientiously as they can. I also try to do what is possible. Continue to do that if you feel it's meaningful to you. Maybe even do more!
I am merely saying that if we want real solutions, we should always fight the narrative about individual responsibility that they keep pushing at us. We should advocate for solutions at the producer level. That's our only hope.
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