Plastic pollution treaty talks in Geneva end without an agreement

North Wales Chronicle

3 days ago

Nations were meeting for an 11th day at the United Nations office in Geneva to try to complete a landmark treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis.
They remain deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics.
The negotiations at the UN hub were supposed to be the last round and produce the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. But just like at the meeting in South Korea last year, they are leaving without a treaty.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chairman of the negotiating committee, wrote and presented two drafts of treaty text in Geneva based on the views expressed by the nations.
The representatives from 184 countries did not agree to use either one as the basis for their negotiations.
Mr Valdivieso said on Friday morning as the delegates reconvened in the assembly hall that no further action is being proposed at this stage on the latest draft.
After a three-hour meeting, he banged a gavel made of recycled plastic bottle tops from a Nairobi landfill. He said the session was adjourned, to be resumed at a later date.
Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and others nations said they were deeply disappointed to be leaving Geneva without a treaty.
European commissioner Jessika Roswall said the European Union and its member states had higher expectations for this meeting and while the draft falls short on their demands, it is a good basis for another negotiating session.
'The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfil that duty,' she said.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said despite challenges, despite the disappointment, 'we have to accept that significant progress was made'.
This process will not stop, she said, but it is too soon to say how long it will take to get a treaty now.
The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organisation to speak at the closing meeting on Friday. Comments from observers were cut off at the request of the US and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and negotiating.
The plastics industry also urged compromise. The Global Partners for Plastics Circularity said in a statement that governments must move past entrenched positions to finalise an agreement reflecting their shared priorities.
Saudi Arabia said both drafts lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti negotiators said the latest proposal takes other states' views more into account and addressed plastic production, which they consider outside the scope of the treaty.
That draft, released early on Friday, did not include a limit on plastic production, but recognised that current levels of production and consumption are 'unsustainable' and global action is needed.
New language had been added to say these levels exceed current waste management capacities and are projected to increase further, 'thereby necessitating a co-ordinated global response to halt and reverse such trends'.
The objective of the treaty was also revamped to state that the accord would be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics.
The biggest issue of the talks has been whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things such as better design, recycling and reuse.
Powerful oil and gas-producing nations and the plastics industry oppose production limits. They want a treaty focused on better waste management and reuse.
Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production. Many have said it is also essential to address toxic chemicals used to make plastics.
Thursday was the last scheduled day of negotiations, but work on the revised draft continued into Friday.
Science shows what it will take to end pollution and protect human health, said Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicology professor at Sweden's University of Gothenburg who coleads the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty.
The science supports addressing the full lifecycle of plastics, beginning with extraction and production, and restricting some chemicals to ensure plastics are safer and more sustainable, she said.
'The science has not changed,' she said. 'It cannot be down negotiated.'
Environmentalists, waste pickers and indigenous leaders and many business executives travelled to the talks to make their voices heard. Some used creative tactics, but are leaving disappointed.
Indigenous leaders sought a treaty that recognises their rights and knowledge.
For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must agree. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and others have said that consensus is vital to an effective treaty. Some countries want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote if necessary.
Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, urged delegates in that direction.
'We are going in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result,' he said as Friday's meeting was ending.