UN plastics treaty talks break down
Negotiations for a UN plastics treaty broke down over the weekend – for now at least. Delegates from more than 170 countries had convened in the South Korean city of Busan for a week of talks, hoping to agree, after years of preparation, to binding measures to contain the pollution caused by plastics throughout the world. Environmental groups urge the parties to the negotiations to agree to binding rules in the coming year to lower global plastics production.
The meeting in Busan was the fifth round of negotiations – and was supposed to be the last. Now talks are set to continue in the coming year. The draft agreement negotiated over the past week will serve as the basis for future discussions.
The key point of contention during the talks was a proposed limit on plastic production. The measure is supported by a coalition of more than 100 countries, among them Mexico, Panama, Rwanda and the member states of the European Union. These countries also support rules governing the use of dangerous chemicals in plastics production.
Opposing the measure are oil-producing countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Russia. They came out strongly against production limits – and instead argued that the treaty should focus on efficient waste management. A large amount of plastic is made with petroleum.
According to media reports, the delegate for Saudi Arabia even called for the entire draft agreement to be renegotiated.
In order for an article to be included in the treaty, all countries that are party to the negotiations must agree.
Hardest-hit countries disappointed
Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez of the Panamanian delegation said at the conclusion of talks, “We did not achieve what we came for.” Every river, every ocean, and every life was at stake, he said – it was a “fight for survival.” Plastic, he said, is “poison.”
Sam Adu-Kumi of the Ghanaian delegation told the AP that Ghana’s “communities, bodies of water, drains and farmlands are choked with plastics.” Dumps that hold plastics are always on fire. “We are here for a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution,” he said. “We want a treaty that will be able to solve” the problem.
German environmental minister Steffi Lemke, speaking to reporters, said it was fatal that resistance from a few countries could block the treaty. Still, Lemke said, the group of countries that wanted a treaty was growing. When talks continue next year, the goal will be to overcome the obstruction of oil-producing countries.
Criticism from environmental groups
The WWF, a conservation organization, expressed disappointment at the results of the talks. Florian Titze, who was in Busan representing WWF’s German chapter, said in a statement: “The results of the negotiations are frustrating. Once again the overwhelming majority of countries asked for ambitious and binding rules to effectively fight plastic pollution, and once again they were thwarted by a few obstructionists.” For two years, he said, a “loud minority of oil-producing countries and countries involved in plastic production” have worked to undermine progress.
Titze stated further that the WWF urged countries to agree in the next round of negotiations to binding measures that would cover the entire life cycle of plastic production. “This includes measures like a global ban on and incremental elimination of harmful artificial substances and chemicals, a global push for product design that promotes recyclability, a solid financial mechanism and means to further develop and strengthen the treaty over time.”
Greenpeace also sees opportunity in a further round of negotiations. Moritz Jäger-Roschko, expert on circular economy and resource conservation at Greenpeace, said in a statement: “We are glad that the negotiations will be continued rather than have the parties agree to a weak deal under time pressure. An effective agreement must contain binding global goals and measures for the lowering of plastic production. We also need bans on avoidable single-use plastics, reusable quotas and a plan for financing these measures.” A “historic opportunity” for a plastics treaty still remained.
Barbara Metz of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a German environmental group, criticized the failure to reach an agreement. She said in a statement: “The contamination of nature with plastic is, along with climate change, one of the world’s largest environmental problems.” Each year millions of tons of plastic wound up in oceans, rivers and lakes. Microplastic was now finding its way into the human body and endangering animals and plants. Germany, Metz said, must advocate at the next round of negotiations for a strong treaty with an enforceable goal for lower plastic production.
Growing amount of plastic waste
According to the UN, each year, roughly 400 million tons of plastic are discarded as waste. This number is expected to grow to up to 1.2 billion tons by 2060 if measures are not taken.
In 2019, only about 9 percent of the plastic produced worldwide was recycled, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). More than 20 percent lands in “uncontrolled dumpsites, is burned in open pits or ends up in terrestrial or aquatic environments, especially in poorer countries.” The OECD warns that the plastic pollution of the ocean will continue “for decades to come.” Plastic in the ocean contributes to the dying off of coral reefs, among other negative effects – animals can die after ingesting plastic waste; some absorb chemicals that can impair their ability to reproduce.
The United Nations agreed in March 2022 to author a joint agreement to curb plastics. Negotiations first began in November 2022 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Organizations like the WWF call for the UN treaty to include a global ban on harmful products and materials. Moreover, a comprehensive measure to introduce or improve methods for collecting and managing waste plastics must be enshrined in the agreement in order to avoid any release of plastic waste into the environment.
Prior to the latest round of negotiations, UN human rights experts at the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) had also called for the agreement to impose controls on chemicals of concern in plastic production. Further, plastic producers should be required to contribute to a global fund, the OHCHR said. This money would be used in part to remove toxic materials from the environment – in accordance with the polluter-pays principle. (dpa / js)