In the last week of April, the fourth and penultimate preparatory meeting for a new international treaty on reducing plastic pollution took place in Ottawa, Canada. On behalf of Arnika, Jindřich Petrlík, an expert on toxic substances in the environment, participated again, this time online. Here is a brief summary of the results of the meeting.
Nearly two hundred lobbyists, mostly from the chemical and fossil fuel industries, were accredited to attend the international negotiations in April. That was about three times the number of independent scientists from the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, who briefed politicians and others at the meeting on the latest science on plastics. And about seven times as many representatives of indigenous peoples, who are pushing for strict limits on plastic pollution because they are among those most affected by it. Pressure from the chemical and plastics industry was obvious even during the conference, as delegates were targeted, for example, by advertisements placed near a venue where the meetings were held.
You can also read Dr. Petrlík's comments from the last round of the Plastic Convention negotiations HERE
A number of countries, such as those in the so-called High Ambition Coalition, which have pledged to push for the most progressive climate action, support efforts to limit plastic pollution as much as possible. Countries in the so-called Global South, which are most affected by plastic pollution, are on the same page. At the same time, they often lack the resources to implement waste and toxics management practices that can effectively and safely deal with plastics in the foreseeable future. A delegation from Fiji, for example, made a very powerful speech, highlighting the sometimes-overlooked fact that we cannot keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius without a significant reduction in plastic production, and that plastics and climate are very closely linked. The joint proposal from Peru and Rwanda, for its part, calls for a significant reduction in global consumption of the polymers from which plastics are made.
However, they are being counterbalanced by countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Cuba, Bahrain and Russia, which are trying to exclude the issue of plastic production from the forthcoming treaty. However, this would essentially render the Plastic Treaty toothless, as it is the extraction of raw materials for the production of new plastics and the production of these plastics themselves that are the source of much pollution. Any action to manage plastic waste in an environmentally sound way will always lag far behind the exponentially growing production of plastics (mainly in the form of often completely useless disposable packaging, plastic bottles, etc.). This is why the countries in the High Ambition Coalition are pushing for, among other things, instruments in the Treaty to limit the production of unnecessary plastics, regulations to improve the recyclability of the plastics produced, and the need to limit the use of toxic substances in their production.
The good news, however, is that after long debates and delays, countries have finally agreed on working negotiating procedures. "After two years of discussions, we have taken a big step forward. We now have a text that we can negotiate," said Björn Beeler, coordinator of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), of which Arnika is a member, summarising the results of the preparatory meeting. Several speeches by representatives of civil society and communities affected by the plastics industry received standing ovations. In the working groups, there was a strong call for measures to ensure transparency of information on the composition and toxicity of plastics and for quality labelling that is understandable to consumers.
In an effort to protect the plastics industry, some countries in the working groups argued that releases of hazardous substances can only occur from waste and microplastics, not from plastic products themselves. This is contradicted by numerous analyses of plastic products such as children's toys, utensils and sports equipment, not only by Arnick but also by other NGOs and consumer organisations around the world.
A final preparatory meeting will be held in November 2024, this time in South Korea. In 2025, the plastics treaty should finally see the light of day. We will keep you updated on developments.
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The project was supported by the Ministry of the Environment. The project is not necessarily reflecting the views of the Ministry of the Environment.