U.N. global plastics pollution summit ends without agreement in Geneva

UPI

a day ago

A 20-foot-tall take on Rodin's iconic "Thinker" sculpture pictured Friday outside U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as an 8-day effort to agree a global plastic pollution treaty wound down. The art installation featuring plastic waste by Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong was specially commissioned for the meeting. Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA
Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A sixth round of United Nations negotiations on ending plastic pollution broke up in Switzerland early Friday without a deal after disagreements with oil-producing nations pushing for recycling solutions over reducing plastic use.
Delegates from 184 countries worked into the early hours in Geneva to bridge division between more than 100 nations pressing for production limits and oil-rich states, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, arguing that plastic was critical to their future economic health.
The final text did not place restrictions on plastic production but did address other issues like dangerous plastic chemicals, including forever chemicals, and making plastics easier to recycle -- but left countries to implement changes as they saw best.
"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 the Cuban delegation.
Colombia blamed the collapse of what was supposed to be the final treaty negotiations, eight months after countries failed to conclude a deal in Busan, South Korea, on a small group of countries, which it said "simply don't want an agreement."
That claim was echoed by Greenpeace's delegation, saying in a news release that the call was clear for a strong, legally binding treaty that ended plastic pollution from extraction to disposal, protected human health and provided financial help for the clean up
"The plastics crisis is accelerating, and the petrochemical industry is determined to bury us for short-term profits. Now is not the time to blink. Now is the time for courage, resolve and perseverance. And world leaders must listen. The future of our health and planet depends on it," said the group's delegation lead Graham Forbes.
The European Union, which along with Britain, had been pushing to cut plastic production and for global plastics standards to boost recycling, was less pessimistic about the outcome, saying it formed a strong basis for further negotiations.
"Plastic pollution is one of the defining crises of our age, and our responsibility to act is clear. While the latest text on the table does not yet meet all our ambitions, it is a step forward -- and the perfect must not be the enemy of the good," said EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.
"The European Union will continue to push for a stronger, binding agreement that safeguards public health, protects our environment, and builds a clean, competitive, and circular economy. We do this not only for ourselves, but for the generations yet to come," Roswall said.
The effort looked set to drag into a fifth year, long beyond the 2024 deadline for a comprehensive agreement dealing with the "full life cycle of plastic" mandated in a resolution adopted by the U.N. Environment Assembly in March 2022.