holding space for plastic to continue defying the planet
+ A COP29 recap, and more news without the blues 𓆩♡𓆪
My angels - holy shit - it’s been the most wild month of my life. It literally feels like I am watching my life change in quite a profound and strange way, and I feel so blessed to have you all on the ride with me. A quick recap:
Thailand with the Asia New Zealand Foundation was amazing:
London with Flo and Evie and Liv was amazing:
Lisbon with my bestie Nick was AMAZING:
London’s book launch with Bel and Pandora was AMAZING:
ON TOUR WITH MY NEW SIS/ BESTIE DOLLY ALDERTON WAS FUCKING UNREAL:
All of these big life things were back to back and I got home and literally didn’t know what timezone I was in, who I was, and how I was to continue functioning. I’m still pulling myself back into normal life and getting my mentals back in order, but I wanted to send you a cute newsy today because I miss you xxxx
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
Life in plastic, it’s not fantastic
This section of the newsy is brought to you by our mates at Cap Plastic Now.
Ok, so I was going to start this section off with a recycling joke but I didn’t want to reuse one of my old lines (sorry, I had to do it.) ANYWAY, it’s not news to any of us that plastic is shit for the environment - we all know this, right??? It’s primarily made from oil, it’s terrible for our planet AND OUR BODIES (I know you’ve all seen those microplastics memes) and while recycling has been given a halo and touted as the solution, realistically only 9% of all plastic waste actually gets recycled. Also, every year, between 19 and 23 million tonnes of plastic waste spills into our lakes, rivers, and oceans, creating a massive pollution problem that affects aquatic life and the environment 🥺
Why am I telling you about this?
Because despite knowing about all these harmful impacts, the fossil fuel industry is investing heavily in increasing production (raise your hand if you’re surprised.) They’re doing this because these industries see plastics as an opportunity for growth, and the production of these plastics (which are made from oil) is expected to be one of the largest growth drivers of oil demand by 2050. These industries are also investing heavily in messaging about plastic as a waste problem that can be solved by recycling (wrong!!! because as we learnt above, only 9% of plastics are recycled.)
Ok so what are we doing about it?
Introducing: The Global Plastic Treaty
The Global Plastic Treaty is a legally binding agreement that aims to reduce plastic pollution by addressing the entire lifecycle of plastic from production to waste.
The treaty proposes 175 countries work together to tackle the plastic crisis, and is being developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is expected to be implemented as early as 2025.
But industry groups (including oil and petrochemical exporters) are pushing for weaker regulations because producing more plastic is good for their bottom line. (Who needs money when you’ve got no planet huh???)
That was a lot, here’s the TLDR:
The sitch
Plastics are made from oil. Producing plastic increases oil demand, creating more emissions and exacerbating the climate crisis. The amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to almost triple by 2060.
We Can’t Recycle Our Way Out of this one, baby:
Recycling alone won’t solve the plastic crisis and can sometimes distract from the real solutions we need.
What we need
Nations and industries must unite to commit to reducing plastic production via the Global Plastics Treaty, with the latest round of negotiations scheduled for November in Busan, South Korea.
Hope this helped make it make sense!!
A COP29 recap for the besties!!!!!
Ok so the COP29 Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, was a rollercoaster of big deals, global drama, and ongoing fights over climate justice. Here’s the lowdown on what went down and why we should care about it:
1. $300 Billion for Developing Countries (but they’re not happy about it)
“Rich” countries agreed to provide $300 billion a year by 2035 to help developing nations fight climate change. Sounds massive, right? Not exactly.
Why the backlash?
It’s triple the current $100 billion per year, but developing nations say it’s nowhere near enough.
A big chunk of the money comes as loans, which means debt instead of outright support.
Wealthy countries dropped this deal at the last minute, leaving little room for negotiation.
2. China’s Quiet Power Move
While the U.S. faces uncertainty with the return of Trump (a climate skeptic), China stepped up its game.
For the first time, China revealed how much climate finance it gives to poorer countries and agreed to let its contributions count in the global fund—on a voluntary basis.
Analysts see this as China positioning itself as a future climate leader.
3. Trump Looms Large
Trump wasn’t there, but his presidency in 2025 shaped the talks. Developed countries wanted to make sure any deals they signed wouldn’t be wrecked by a future Trump administration:
Setting 2035 as the target year gives room for the U.S. to rejoin once Trump is gone.
Getting China to pitch in was also meant to keep momentum going if the U.S. steps back.
4. Richer vs. Poorer Nations: The Drama Isn’t Over
The $300 billion deal reopened old wounds between the Global North (wealthy countries) and the Global South (developing nations).
Developing countries were frustrated by how much their needs were sidelined in the process. They’ve been pushing for bigger grants—not loans—and more focus on climate justice.
5. The Host Country Didn’t Exactly Help
Azerbaijan, a major oil and gas exporter, hosted the summit, which felt out of sync (to say the least) with COP’s mission to fight climate change.
President Ilham Aliyev stirred controversy by calling oil and gas a “gift from God” and blaming Western media for “spreading disinformation.” Not exactly the vibe needed for climate cooperation.
6. Activists Turned Up the Heat
Protests were louder and more confrontational than ever:
U.S. climate envoy John Podesta was chased from a meeting with chants of “shame.”
Many activists and NGOs pushed for developing countries to reject the finance deal outright, arguing it wasn’t enough.
7. What’s Next?
By spring 2025, countries need to submit new plans showing how they’ll cut emissions in the next 10 years. A more generous deal at COP29 could’ve made these plans more ambitious, but now it’s unclear if that will happen.
For more info, you can go here darlings!
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
Have you seen Wicked? Have you been holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity?
Ok so I’ve seen Wicked and I loved it despite knowing NONE of the back story (I haven’t even seen The Wizard of Oz so I was surprised when the Wizard turned out to be a prick.) But what I’ve loved as much, if not more, is the extremely onlineness surrounding the press tour. In particular, people have really grasped on to this one interview where this exchange happens:
“I’ve seen this week, people are taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space with that, and feeling power in that,” Gilchrist says to Erivo in a clip of the exchange.
The sentiment touched Erivo, and she responded, “I didn’t know that was happening.”
“That’s really powerful,” she added, looking over to her co-star, who then grabbed her finger in a show of support. “That’s what I wanted.”
It’s soooo theatre kid-coded and the memes that have sprung out of it have been really good.
So many of us have grown up having everything available and accessible to us all the time - which is AMAZING for so many reasons, but there is a cost to free things - even if you can’t see it.
In a world that feels more mystifying by the day, where journalists are constantly being laid off, and misinformation spreads faster than a leaked Harry Styles song, finding media that you trust, understand and actually want to read is so important.
I know you value what I do - so many of you email me saying how much you love the newsletter, thanking me for explaining topics you might not have heard of, and telling me how much it means to you that you’ve got a friend on the other side of this thing (🥺🥺🥺) If you believe in paying for the media (or the person???) you love, then please consider becoming a supporter.
(◔_◔)✓✘ TODAY’S MUNDANE POLL (◔_◔)✓✘
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What a wild ride! Congrats on the whirlwind tour(s). While I’m holding space for Defying Gravity, there is no space for today’s mundane poll - third option ew!