As talks on the plastic treaty open, countries are more divided than ever

Countries are under pressure to make progress on a first global plastics treaty this week, but face tense negotiations in the Canadian capital with parties deeply divided over what the treaty should include as talks begin Tuesday.

If governments can agree on a legally binding treaty that looks not only at how plastics are disposed of, but also how much plastic is produced and how it is used, the treaty could become the most important agreement to tackle the of global warming emissions from Paris in 2015. Agreement.

Plastics production accounts for about 5% of climate emissions and could rise to 20% by 2050 unless curbed, according to a report last week from the US federal Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

When countries agreed in 2022 to negotiate a legally binding treaty by the end of this year, they called for tackling the full life cycle of plastics – from production and use to waste.

A prop depicting a water fountain with a row of plastic bottles is displayed by activists near the Shaw Center site of the penultimate negotiations for the first global plastic treaty, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 23, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS

But as negotiations begin in Ottawa, there is strong opposition from the petrochemical lobby and some fossil fuel-dependent governments to limit production or ban certain chemicals.

Thousands of delegates, including negotiators, lobbyists and non-profit observers, are expected at the Ottawa summit, the fourth round of negotiations ahead of a final deal expected in December – making it one of the fastest UN-led treaty efforts to date.

They will be greeted by protesters who will do a “die-in” – lying down and pretending to be dead – on Tuesday morning across the street from the negotiation site.

“This process is undoubtedly an accelerated and ambitious one, because we do not have decades to act,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Deep divisions

The chair of the Ottawa negotiations said Reuters planned to split national delegates into seven working groups this week to work on outstanding issues, including what the treaty should include and how it should be implemented.

“Time is not our best ally,” said the summit’s president, Luis Vaillas Valdivieso, who is also Ecuador’s undersecretary for foreign affairs. “We have to start negotiations on inauguration day.”

During the latest treaty talks in November in Nairobi, there was strong support from 130 governments for requiring companies to disclose how much plastic they produce and what chemicals they use in the process.

With plastic production set to triple by 2060, advocates say such disclosures are a key first step in controlling harmful plastic waste – the vast majority of which ends up littering landscapes, clogging waterways or landfills – and harming public health.

Almost a fifth of the world’s plastic waste is burned, which releases high amounts of carbon emissions. Less than 10% of it is recycled, according to UN figures.

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However, a handful of fossil fuel-dependent nations that call themselves “Like-Minded Countries” have argued against limiting production or banning certain chemicals. The group, which includes Saudi Arabia and China, says the treaty should focus only on identifying plastic waste.

The position is shared by the petrochemical industry. “We are looking at the agreement to accelerate actions that the industry is already taking on its own,” such as increasing recycling and redesigning plastic products, said Stuart Harris, a spokesman for the International Council of Chemical Associations.

Saudi officials declined to comment. State oil company Saudi Aramco said it plans by 2030 to send nearly a third of its oil output to petrochemical plants to make plastics.

China, which produces about a third of the world’s plastic, has “always attached great importance to controlling plastic pollution and is willing to work with other countries to make common progress in negotiations,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. , Lin Jian.

Argument for ambitions

It is unclear whether the majority of countries calling for production limits can convince prisoners to support such a measure. Environmental groups and scientists say production limits are necessary.

“More plastic production means more plastic pollution,” said Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator of the International Pollutants Elimination Network.

That point was underlined in a letter published on Tuesday by 30 scientists who make up the Coalition of Scientists, who told negotiators that caps on plastics production are the only way to tackle the problem and called on the industry to provide detailed evidence on production and disclose the chemicals they use. to enable more efficient recycling of components.

The largest producer of plastic waste, the United States avoided joining the negotiating blocs. The measures proposed by US negotiators include requiring countries to address certain chemicals that have raised public health concerns, as well as “single-use” plastic products considered wasteful.

Black-bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) stand on a log as plastic bottles and trash float in the El Cerron Grande Reservoir in Potonico, El Salvador, September 8, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

a State Department official said Reuters the US delegation wanted the treaty to be ambitious in its goals – but leave it up to governments to decide how to achieve those goals.

More than 60 countries that make up the so-called High Aspirations Coalition, including EU members Mexico, Australia, Japan and Rwanda, also support a strong treaty that tackles production and requires transparency and controls on the chemicals used in procedure.

However, unlike the United States, they argue that the treaty should mandate global measures and targets rather than a system of national action plans.