Good morning, this is Paula. A UN commission decided this week that it was the end of the road for one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution. Invisible particles shed from tyres as vehicles make tracks, ending up in the most pristine of habitats, washing into lakes and rivers, and blowing into the air.
My colleague, Michelle, reports on what the new regulations will mean once they are adopted at a conference here in June. |
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A mechanic handling tyres at a garage in Oberengstringen, Switzerland, 15 October 2015. (Keystone/Alexandra Wey)
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Every move you make, every turn you take, every time you brake, every time you accelerate – your tyres will be shedding microplastics. Tyre and road wear particles – as the specialists call it – are an invisible, lesser-known source of plastic pollution. Part natural and part synthetic rubber, a plastic polymer, tyres lose about a third of their weight over their lifetime, polluting the air, water and soil.
Now, a new regulation under discussion in Geneva wants to curb that. This week, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted limits on tyre abrasions from new C1 tyres for cars and vans.
Studies have shown tyre wear is one of the largest sources of microplastics in the environment, making up 78 per cent of 1.3 million metric tons of microplastics leaking into the ocean in 2016 – a figure on track to more than double by 2040.
Read the full story on Geneva Solutions.
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Here's what else is happening
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💥Gulf states request urgent debate at UN Human Rights Council, documents show.
The draft resolution comes amid ongoing attacks by Iran on civilians and energy infrastructure, including the world’s largest liquid natural gas facility, Qatar’s Ras Laffan, hit early yesterday. The council has scheduled discussions for next Tuesday.
Reuters (EN)
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🇦🇷Argentina completes exit from WHO, straining global health coordination.
The government, which accuses the World Health Organization of advancing “an agenda marked by ideological bias”, said it will continue to cooperate on health through the Pan American Health Organization, a WHO-affiliated body.
Arete News (EN)
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🦠Pressure builds as pandemic agreement talks reach final week with little consensus.
Time is running out ahead of the WHO’s annual conference to agree on a key annex to the agreement, which will determine how countries can share data about pathogens, and how they will benefit from vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics developed as a result.
Health Policy Watch (EN)
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⛑️Russia and Ukraine exchanging around 1,000 bodies each month, Red Cross chief says.
Pierre Krähenbühl, International Committee of the Red Cross, told journalists in Geneva that “thousands and thousands” more bodies remained unidentified.
AFP via The Moscow Times (EN)
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