This week, world leaders will meet in the capital of Canada to talk about the status of the first-ever global convention being drafted, which would limit the world’s rising plastic pollution by the end of the year.

The anticipated accord, which is expected to be reached by the end of this year, may represent the biggest agreement on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental conservation since the 2015 Paris Agreement, which persuaded 195 countries to commit to preventing global warming to 1.5C.

However, nations disagree on how ambitious the pact should be, giving negotiators in Ottawa a difficult assignment.

“It’s a crucial moment of this process,” Andres Gomez Carrion, chair of the negotiations, told Reuters. “One of the biggest challenges is to define where the plastics lifecycle starts and define what sustainable production and consumption is.”

The nations of the world came to a legally binding agreement in 2022 at the U.N. Environmental Assembly to address the global plastic pollution catastrophe by the end of 2024.

The goal of the treaty is to handle plastics at every stage of their lifespan, from production to use to disposal.

Producing plastics releases greenhouse gas emissions, despite the fact that plastic trash has grown to be a global threat that pollutes waterways and landscapes.

According to a paper released last week by the US federal Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the plastics industry is currently responsible for 5% of global carbon emissions, but if current trends continue, that percentage could rise to 20% by 2050.

If output restrictions are not specified by the treaty, as some have suggested, plastic production is expected to quadruple by 2060. The majority of virgin plastic comes from petroleum.

With some 3,500 registered attendees, including lobbyists, business executives, legislators, scientists, and environmental non-profits, this week’s sessions are expected to be the largest ever.

However, throughout the three prior rounds of negotiations—held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Paris, and most recently, Nairobi—nations have grown apart on the concerns.

The draft treaty under discussion at the Nairobi meetings in November grew from thirty pages to seventy as several countries insisted on expressing their opposition to more ambitious provisions such as production restrictions and phase-outs.

There is currently pressure on nations to reach a consensus prior to the December final negotiations in Busan, South Korea.

Several nations that produce plastic and petrochemicals, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China (together referred to as the group of Like-Minded Countries), have objected to the discussion of production limitations.

Following the Nairobi conference of last year, they prevented other nations from formally negotiating on proposed treaty text requiring production caps, chemical declarations, or reduction timelines.

In the meanwhile, the goal of the 60-nation “High-Ambition Coalition” is to eradicate plastic waste by 2040. This coalition comprises EU members, island nations, and Japan.

This coalition, which has the support of certain environmental organisations, has demanded uniform, legally-binding clauses that “restrain and reduce the production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels.”

Along with these proposals, there are measures like the phase-out of “problematic” single-use plastics and the prohibition of certain chemical additions that may pose health hazards.

As said, the United States hopes to eradicate plastic pollution by 2040. It does not, however, support the High-Ambition Coalition’s demand that nations make their own plans and include specifics about them in recurring pledges to the UN.

Members of Plastics Europe and the American Chemistry Council are among the prominent petrochemical producers represented by the trade association Global Partners for Plastics Circularity.

The group contends that the treaty should only handle plastics once they are created and that production caps would result in higher prices for consumers.

These businesses aim to promote the recycling or reuse of plastics, even if a recent Reuters investigation discovered significant barriers to this approach. One such technological advancement is the ability to convert plastic into fuel. on transparency on the chemicals used in production, the group believes that companies ought to be free to reveal those chemicals on their own volition.

The so-called Business Coalition for a Plastics Treaty now numbers over 200 consumer-facing corporations, including Walmart, PepsiCo, and Unilever.

Similar to the petrochemical sector, these businesses have played a significant role in the plastics negotiations by using plastic packaging for their goods.

However, a statement released before of the Ottawa negotiations states that they are in favour of a treaty that uses “restrictions and phase-outs, reuse policies, product design requirements, extended producer responsibility, and waste management” in addition to output quotas.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Sustainability, Uncategorized