St. Kitts and Nevis has stepped onto the global stage with a firm call for decisive international action to combat plastic pollution. During the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), the Federation joined 94 other countries in endorsing The Nice Wake Up Call for an Ambitious Plastics Treaty, a pivotal declaration aimed at advancing a legally binding agreement on plastic waste.
Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action, represented St. Kitts and Nevis and delivered remarks on behalf of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Emphasising the complex realities facing the region, Dr. Clarke underscored the triple threat posed by plastic pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss.
“Our challenges are deeply interconnected,” she stated. “We’re dealing not only with plastic waste but with the mounting effects of a climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity. Our small economies are under pressure, and without meaningful global partnerships, we simply cannot keep up.”
Dr. Clarke identified three critical areas of concern for the region in the treaty talks: the urgent need to regulate single-use plastics, the importance of addressing plastics across their entire lifecycle—from production through disposal—and the necessity of dedicated financial support for SIDS. These concerns, she noted, reflect the realities already being tackled through St. Kitts and Nevis’ Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA), which has banned single-use plastics nationwide.
“This is a matter of survival, not just for the environment, but for our people and economies,” she stressed. “This treaty must go beyond ambition—it must be enforceable and responsive.”
Dr. Clarke further highlighted the imbalance of responsibility, pointing out that while SIDS are heavily impacted by plastic pollution, they are rarely the source. “Pollution that washes up on our shores is not of our own doing. Yet we are the ones facing its consequences. We need support to fix what others have caused.”
The Nice Wake Up Call sets out five guiding principles for the global treaty: reducing plastic production and consumption, eliminating harmful plastic products, promoting sustainable design, ensuring strong enforcement and financing, and allowing the treaty to evolve as scientific knowledge grows. These points will steer discussions as the final round of negotiations unfolds in Geneva this August.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ early implementation of anti-plastic policies has earned international attention, with its SISA framework now seen as a potential model for other signatories. As momentum builds for a groundbreaking plastics agreement, the Federation remains committed to driving global change that secures the future of small island nations and the health of the planet.
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