World plastic pollution treaty talks collapse with no deal
Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground between nations wanting bold action such as curbing plastic production, and oil-producing states preferring to focus more narrowly on waste management.
Several countries voiced bitter disappointment as the talks unravelled, but said they were prepared for future negotiations -- despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement.
"We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty," said Cuba.
Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement."
Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said they were once again leaving empty-handed.
"For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture," the Polynesian archipelago said.
- Pollution fight 'cannot end here' -
The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the European Union, Britain and Canada, and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics.
A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia -- want the treaty to have a much narrower remit.
"Our views were not reflected... without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track and risks sliding down a slippery slope," said Kuwait.
Bahrain said it wanted a treaty that "does not penalise developing countries for exploiting their own resources".
France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said: "I am disappointed, and I am angry," saying a handful of countries, "guided by short-term financial interests", had blocked the adoption of an ambitious treaty.
"Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way."
The future of the negotiations was not immediately clear.
Some countries called for a seventh round of talks in future, with the EU saying the latest draft was a "good basis for a resumed session", and South Africa insisting: "It cannot end here."
The talks in Geneva -- called after the collapse of the fifth and supposedly final round of talks in South Korea late last year -- opened on August 5.
- Last-ditch scramble -
With countries far apart, talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso produced a draft text Wednesday based on the limited areas of convergence.
But it was immediately shredded by all sides, plunging the talks into disarray, with the high ambition group finding it shorn of all impact, and the Like-Minded Group saying it crossed their red lines and lacked scope.
Vayas spend Thursday in a frantic round of negotiations with regional groups, and produced a new version after midnight.
Lead negotiators then held a meeting behind closed doors to thrash out whether there was enough in the text to keep talking. But shortly before sunrise, the game was up.
- Dumped, burned and discarded -
More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items.
While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled.
Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.
The plastic pollution problem is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body.
On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed one billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'Disappointed and angry': How negotiations for a global plastic treaty fell apart this week
Talks to strike a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution fell apart on Friday, leaving many frustrated and some calling it a "missed opportunity". Negotiators from 185 nations met in Geneva last week to try and draft the world's first legally-binding treaty to deal with the growing global issue of plastic pollution. Despite working beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night, the talks were ultimately futile and nations could not reach a consensus. A large bloc of nations including the European Union, Britain and many African and Latin American countries called for curbing plastic production and phasing out toxic chemicals used in plastics. However, a smaller group of oil-producing states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia argued instead for waste management. These countries railed against the negotiations being based on the entire life-cycle of plastic: from the petroleum-derived substance through to waste. While around 100 nations sought caps on plastic production, a number of countries including the United States stood against them and argued caps were unnecessary and a threat to their economies and industries. While a large number of nations argued for caps on plastic production others, including the US, stood against them. Source: AAP / Martial Trezzini/EPA 'Missed a historic opportunity' Representatives of countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unravelled, but said they wanted future negotiations — despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement. "We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently," said Cuba. Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement." Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said: "For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture." France's ecological transition minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said she was "disappointed" and "angry" and blamed a handful of countries "guided by short-term financial interests" for blocking an ambitious treaty. "Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way," she said. Graham Forbes, the head of Greenpeace's delegation to the talks called the collapse of negotiations a "wake up call for the world". "The vast majority of governments want a strong agreement, yet a handful of bad actors were allowed to use process to drive such ambition into the ground. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. The time for hesitation is over," he said. Environmental NGOs also warned that without radically changing the process to better reflect the majority view, future talks will hit the same dead end. David Azoulay from the Center for International Environmental Law's David Azoulay said the talks had been an "abject failure" because some countries were out to "block any attempt at advancing a viable treaty". The World Wide Fund for Nature said the talks exposed how consensus decision-making "had now "outplayed its role in international environmental negotiations". What happens now? Oil-producing nations argued that recycling, reuse and product design were sufficient to address the problem of global plastic pollution without resorting to production cuts. However, experts say these are not substantial answers to the issue. Ingar Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), which hosted the talks, has said the world "will not recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis". More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. While 15 per cent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine per cent is actually recycled. The future of the UNEP negotiations is now uncertain and while some countries have committed to resuming negotiations, others expressed that they have lost faith after repeated attempts. Andersen also pledged to continue work. "We did not get where we want but people want a deal," she said. On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed one billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Australian
13 hours ago
- The Australian
World plastic pollution treaty talks collapse with no deal
Talks aimed at striking a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution fell apart Friday as countries failed to find consensus on how the world should tackle the ever-growing scourge. Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground. A large bloc wants bold action such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states want to focus more narrowly on waste management. The stalemate was a resounding failure for the environment and for international diplomacy at a time when its frailties are in the spotlight. Countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unravelled, but said they wanted future negotiations -- despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement. "We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently," said Cuba. Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement." Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said: "For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture." - Looking the other way - The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the European Union, Britain and Canada, and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics. The cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia -- want a much narrower remit. These countries railed against the negotiations being based on the entire life-cycle of plastic: from the petroleum-derived substance right through to waste. "Our views were not reflected... without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track," said Kuwait. Bahrain said it wanted a treaty that "does not penalise developing countries for exploiting their own resources". France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said: "I am disappointed, and I am angry," blaming a handful of countries, "guided by short-term financial interests", for blocking an ambitious treaty. "Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way," she said. - Red lines fleshed out - The talks in Geneva -- called after the collapse of the fifth and supposedly final round of talks in South Korea late last year -- opened on August 5. With countries far apart, Vayas produced two different draft texts on Wednesday and early Friday. The first was immediately shredded by countries, but while the second gained some traction, by sunrise, the game was up. Talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso said the session had merely been adjourned rather than ended. He told AFP that countries and the secretariat "will be working to try to find a date and also a place" for resuming the talks. The negotiations were hosted by the UN Environment Programme. UNEP chief Inger Andersen told AFP that the Geneva talks had fleshed out the deeper details of where countries' red lines were. "They've exchanged on these red lines amongst one another -- that's a very important step," she said. - Bad actors - However, environmental NGOs warned that without radically changing the process to better reflect the majority view, future talks would hit the same dead end -- while plastic garbage would continue choking the environment. The Center for International Environmental Law's David Azoulay said the talks had been an "abject failure" because some countries were out to "block any attempt at advancing a viable treaty". "We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," said Greenpeace's delegation head Graham Forbes, blaming "fossil fuel interests" and "a handful of bad actors" for exploiting the consensus-based process to skewer meaningful action. The World Wide Fund for Nature said the talks exposed how consensus decision-making "had now "outplayed its role in international environmental negotiations". - Dumped, burned and discarded - More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter. The plastic pollution problem is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed one billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. rjm/mh/vog/giv
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Landmark plastics treaty falls apart as nations fail to find consensus for pollutioneaty
Talks aimed at striking a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution have ended without agreement as countries failed to find consensus on how the world should tackle the ever-growing scourge. Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground between nations wanting bold action, such as curbing plastic production, and oil-producing states preferring to focus more narrowly on waste management. Several countries voiced bitter disappointment as the talks unravelled, but said they were prepared for future negotiations — despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement. "We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty," said Cuba. Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement." Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said they were once again leaving empty-handed. "For our islands, this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture," the Polynesian archipelago said. The High Ambition Coalition, which includes Australia, the European Union, Britain and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics. A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group — including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia — want the treaty to have a much narrower remit. "Our views were not reflected … without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track and risks sliding down a slippery slope," said Kuwait. Bahrain said it wanted a treaty that "does not penalise developing countries for exploiting their own resources". France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said: "I am disappointed, and I am angry," saying a handful of countries, "guided by short-term financial interests", had blocked the adoption of an ambitious treaty. The future of the negotiations was not immediately clear. Some countries called for a seventh round of talks in future, with the EU saying the latest draft was a "good basis for a resumed session", and South Africa insisting: "It cannot end here." The talks in Geneva — called after the collapse of the fifth and supposedly final round of talks in South Korea late last year — opened on August 5. With countries far apart, chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso produced a draft text on Wednesday based on the limited areas of convergence. But it was immediately shredded by all sides, plunging the talks into disarray, with the high ambition group finding it shorn of all impact, and the Like-Minded Group saying it crossed their red lines and lacked scope. Mr Vayas spent Thursday in a frantic round of negotiations with regional groups and produced a new version after midnight. Lead negotiators then held a meeting behind closed doors to thrash out whether there was enough in the text to keep talking. But shortly before sunrise, the game was up. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. While 15 per cent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only 9 per cent is actually recycled. Nearly half, or 46 per cent, ends up in landfills, while 17 per cent is incinerated and 22 per cent is mismanaged and becomes litter. The plastic pollution problem is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed 1 billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. AFP
