No global agreement has been reached on cutting plastic production, negotiations will continue next year
Negotiators working on an agreement to tackle the global problem of plastic pollution for a week in South Korea have failed to reach an agreement and plan to resume talks next year.
They are at loggerheads over whether an agreement should reduce total plastic on Earth and set global, legally binding controls on the toxic chemicals used to make plastics.
The meeting of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Busan, South Korea, was supposed to be the fifth and final round of negotiations, to produce the first legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the ocean, by the end of 2024. But later in the morning on Monday, the negotiators plan to continue the talks next year.
More than 100 countries want the agreement to reduce production and address cleanup and recycling, and many say it’s important to address chemicals of concern. But in some countries that produce plastic and oil and gas, that crosses the red line.
For any proposal to enter into an agreement, all nations must agree to it. Some countries have sought to change the process so that decisions are taken by vote if consensus is not reached and the process is crippled. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and others are opposed to change, consensus is essential for an inclusive and effective agreement.
On Sunday, the final day of negotiations, the draft agreement still had many options for several key sections. Other delegates and environmental groups said it had become the norm, including negotiators from Africa who said they would rather leave Busan without a deal than make a weak deal.
Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, says he is disappointed that no agreement was reached on Sunday, but added that he still hopes an agreement can be reached as negotiators make plans to meet again next year.
Guilbeault says he plans to use next year’s G7 summit to be hosted in Alberta as a forum to push the issue forward.
Production is expected to increase significantly
Every year, the world produces more than 360 million tons of new plastic. Plastic production could increase by nearly 70 percent by 2040 without policy changes.
Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in the air, in fresh produce and even in human breast milk.
In animals such as fish, these broken pieces of large plastics have been linked to lower rates of growth and reproduction, among many other problems. Researchers are still trying to determine more clearly whether microplastics pose a direct risk to human health, and to what degree.
In Ghana, communities, water, canals and farms are choked with plastic, and plastic dumps are constantly on fire, said Sam Adu-Kumi, the country’s lead coordinator.
“We are looking for an agreement that will be able to resolve it,” he said in the interview. “Otherwise, we will go without it and fight another time.”
In the meeting on Sunday night, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chairman of the committee from Ecuador, said that although they are making progress in Busan, their work is far from finished and they must work properly. He said the countries are very different on proposals regarding problematic plastics and chemicals of concern, plastic production and financing of the agreement, and the terms of the agreement.
Valdivieso said the meeting should be stopped and continued later. Many countries are then thinking about what they should see in the agreement moving forward.
Thousands of delegates are in Ottawa trying to forge a landmark deal to end plastic pollution, but the road to getting there is full of obstacles. CBC’s Susan Ormiston examines why it’s so difficult to stop the crisis and what it will take for the world to agree on a plan.
Rwanda’s lead negotiator, Juliet Kabera, said she spoke on behalf of 85 countries stressing that the agreement was always ambitious, fit for purpose and not built to fail, for the benefit of current and future generations. He asked all those who support this statement to “stand up for ambition.” Many of the guests and audience stood up, clapping their hands.
The Panamanian delegation, which led the effort to include plastic production in the agreement, said it will come back strong, loud and determined.
A spokesman for Saudi Arabia said chemicals and plastic production are not covered by the agreement. Speaking for the Arab group, he said that if the world is talking about plastic pollution, there should not be a problem with plastic production. The Kuwait negotiator emphasized that, saying that the goal is to eliminate plastic pollution, not the plastic itself, and that extending authority beyond its original purpose erodes trust and goodwill.
In March 2022, 175 countries agreed to make the first legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the ocean, by the end of 2024. This decision states that countries will establish a legally binding instrument worldwide on plastic pollution based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the complete life cycle of plastic.
Stewart Harris, spokesman for the International Council of Chemical Associations, said it was an incredibly ambitious timeline. He said the ICCA is hopeful that the governments can reach an agreement in the near future.
Most of the discussions in Busan took place behind closed doors. Environmental groups, indigenous leaders and others who visited Busan to help shape the deal said it should have been more transparent and they felt silenced.
“The voices of affected communities, scientific and health leaders are not silent in this process, and to a large extent, that is why the dialogue process is failing,” said Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator of the International Pollutants Elimination Network. “Busan has proven that this system is broken and he is just walking away.”
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said that although they did not get an agreement in Busan as many had hoped, their efforts brought the world closer to a joint solution to end plastic pollution around the world.
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