175 countries meet to discuss global plastics treaty
Delegates from 175 countries are in the South Korean city of Busan for the final meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, which should lead to a global plastics treaty. However, as at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, there are conflicting interests.
The previous round of talks, in Ottawa in April 2024, is considered a failure. Little progress was made on what a solution should look like, as fossil fuel-producing countries blocked the inclusion of upstream measures, such as limiting the production of new plastic.
Activists, companies and many members of the High Ambition Coalition – an alliance of EU member states and countries in the southern hemisphere where much of the world’s plastic waste is dumped or incinerated – agree that production limits are the best way to stem the flow of plastic waste and encourage countries to recycle more.
Industry lobbyists
Countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, however, backed by fossil fuel industry lobbyists, have blocked progress during the previous four rounds of talks by only entertaining solutions that focus on circularity – reuse and recycling – rather than putting limits on new production.
“It is crucial that we agree on an effective treaty in Busan,” said Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Norway’s International Development minister, adding that plastic pollution is expected to double in 20 years unless the world takes action. “We cannot wait another 10 years to achieve results.”
The conference is due to end on 1 December.
Inger Andersen, under-secretary general of the UN and executive director of UNEP, holds up a letter from a child at the opening of the fifth session of UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Busan, 25 November 2024 © PHOTO ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
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