Government representatives are preparing for difficult negotiations over whether to restrict the quantity of plastic generated or simply to concentrate on waste management as the world’s governments begin another round of talks this week on drafting the first-ever convention to reduce plastic pollution.

Using a “zero draught” document that outlines potential policies and measures to take into account, national delegates to the week-long conference in Nairobi, Kenya, will debate which of those options to include in what would eventually become a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024, according to officials involved in the negotiations.

“We are at a pivotal moment in this process,” said David Azoulay, a managing attorney of the Center for International Environmental Law who is an observer to the negotiations.

According to the UN Environment Programme, the world presently produces 400 million tonnes of plastic garbage annually, of which less than 10% is recycled, clogging landfills and polluting oceans. The amount generated is expected to increase significantly over the next ten years as oil firms, who frequently also make plastics, search for new revenue streams as the energy industry shifts away from fossil fuels.

According to the U.N. Environment Programme, fossil fuel is the source of nearly 98% of single-use plastic today, such as bottles and packaging.

A strong treaty with “binding provisions” for limiting the production and use of virgin plastic polymers derived from petrochemicals and for banning or restricting problematic plastics like PVC and others with toxic ingredients has been demanded by the European Union and dozens of other nations, including Japan, Canada, and Kenya.

The plastics sector and petrochemical and oil exporting nations like Saudi Arabia oppose that stance, preferring to see the use of plastics continue. They contend that the primary goal of the convention should be to recycle and reuse plastics, a concept that is sometimes referred to in discussions as “circularity” in the plastics supply.

Saudi Arabia said in a proposal made prior to this week’s negotiations that “inefficient management of waste” was the primary cause of plastic contamination.

In recent months, the United States has changed its position from the beginning, when it sought a treaty consisting of national programmes to manage plastics. It now contends that national plans should still serve as the foundation for the treaty, but such plans should also take into account globally agreed-upon targets for reducing plastic pollution that are “meaningful and feasible,” a U.S. State Department official told Reuters in a statement.

According to council spokesperson Matthew Kastner, the International Council of Chemical Associations wants the treaty to contain provisions “that accelerate a circular economy for plastics.”

“The plastics agreement should be focused on ending plastic pollution, not plastic production,” Kastner told Reuters in a statement.

Strong treaties are liabilities that could limit the sale of fossil fuels to producers and exporters of oil, gas, and petrochemicals, according to Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator of the International Pollutants Elimination Network.

Saudi Arabia as well as other producers are “pushing a ‘bottom up’ approach that makes individual countries responsible for the cleanup, health, and environmental costs of plastics and chemicals while leaving the fossil fuels and plastics industries off the hook,” Beeler stated.

Additionally, nations will argue over whether the pact should include requirements for chemical transparency in the manufacturing of plastics.

However, before addressing the substantive issues, the delegates must address procedural concerns that caused the discussions to stall in June after Saudi Arabia stated that decisions ought to be made by agreement rather than by a majority of nations. A majority would enable one nation to obstruct the treaty’s ratification. The majority of other nations opposed the action.

There were no comments on the issues from the Saudi delegation.

Environmental organisations expressed their optimism that this week’s negotiations would concentrate on the actual content of the pact rather than the formalities that impede its advancement.

“We need a radical rethink of the global plastics economy and cannot get bogged down by derailing tactics and false solutions,” said Christina Dixon of the Environmental Investigation Agency.

(Adapted from TBSNews.net)

Categories: Geopolitics, Strategy, Sustainability