Latest news with #IlanaSeid
Euractiv
a day ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
Stalled Geneva talks threaten landmark plastic pollution treaty
With just four days left to reach a landmark global agreement on tackling plastic pollution, negotiations in Geneva remain deadlocked after a stalled first week of talks. The UN negotiations in Geneva follow a failed round in Busan, South Korea, last year. The first week fell behind schedule and produced no clear text, and after a Sunday pause, negotiators returned Monday to a draft riddled with unresolved issues. "We have to speed up negotiations," said EU environment chief Jessika Roswall, who arrived on Monday for the final stretch. "With four more days to go, we have more square brackets in the text than plastic in the sea." The 34-page draft, intended as the basis for high-level talks, remains bracketed throughout, reflecting deep divides over scope and ambition. A US-led alliance wants the treaty to address only plastic pollution, while an EU-led bloc is pushing to include limits on production. OECD projections show that global plastic output could triple by 2060. Rival camps square off The EU-led "ambitious" group, backed by Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the UK, much of Africa and Latin America, and small island states, is seeking binding measures, such as the phasing out of the most dangerous chemicals. Small island nations "will not stand by while our future is bartered away in a stalemate", said Palau envoy Ilana Seid on Sunday, speaking for 39 members of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) group. Opposing them is the 'Like-Minded Group', led by Russia and major petrostates, which wants the treaty to focus on waste management and recycling. Last week, the US aligned with them, sending a memo urging delegations to scrap an article referencing plastic production. The struggle for consensus The treaty requires approval from all states, but observers say low-ambition countries are in no rush to compromise. "We risk having a meaningless treaty without any binding global rules like bans and phase-outs," Eirik Lindebjerg of NGO WWF told AFP . "Expecting any meaningful outcome to this process through consensus is a delusion. With the time remaining, the ambitious governments must come together as a majority to finalise the treaty text and prepare to agree it through a vote," he added. The text has ballooned to include nearly 1,500 bracketed sections – five times more than at the start of the talks – making agreement increasingly unlikely before the talks close on Thursday. (de)
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Brazil COP30 climate summit lodging too pricey for some nations
PARIS: High prices for lodging may force small island states to slash the size of their delegations to the November COP30 climate summit in Brazil, a representative said Friday. 'The 39 members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have continually expressed their concerns about the prohibitive costs associated with travelling to and staying in Belem,' Ilana Seid, chair of the group and representative of Palau at the United Nations, told AFP by email. 'We do not have the luxury of large budgets at our disposal to ensure our participation,' she said on behalf of the countries that dot oceans worldwide and are especially vulnerable to sea level rise and superstorms amplified by global warming. 'If our delegations are reduced or unable to participate effectively, it would be a failure in the pursuit of climate justice for those whose lives and livelihoods are on the front line of a crisis they did not cause,' Seid said. The UN climate conference will be held in November in Belem, an Amazonian city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel accommodations. Less than 100 days before the event, the prices have caused such widespread consternation that some countries have asked for the conference to be moved to another city. Austria's head of state this week cancelled his planned trip, citing 'exceptionally high costs'. Recent months have seen hotels advertising rooms at 1,200 euros ($1,400) a night. Some offerings on the Airbnb booking platform were even higher. Airbnb said it was 'committed to increasing efforts to raise awareness in the local hosting community and encourage responsible practices'. Since November 2023 the number of listings for the Belem region had surged to 6,100 from 1,000, 'which represents around 19,000 beds', it told AFP, in a statement. The COP30 presidency, which does not intend to move the event, has offered reduced-price accommodation for developing and island countries, including cabins on cruise ships. But the price of these rooms is 'still higher' than the package agreed for UN-backed travellers, Seid said. 'The allocation of 15 rooms per delegation is also alarming, meaning that many of our countries would be forced to reduce the size of their delegations,' she said. The COP30 president, Andre Correa do Lago, acknowledged this month that there were 'extreme concerns' and that 'reducing delegations is obviously not what Brazil wants because we need a very intense and productive COP'. 'We are trying to find solutions to this price issue,' he told journalists.—AFP
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Brazil COP30 climate summit lodging too pricey for some nations
Forest lines the Combu creek, on Combu Island on the banks of the Guama River, near the city of Belem, Para state, Brazil, Aug. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) High prices for lodging may force small island states to slash the size of their delegations to the November COP30 climate summit in Brazil, a representative said Friday. 'The 39 members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have continually expressed their concerns about the prohibitive costs associated with travelling to and staying in Belem,' Ilana Seid, chair of the group and representative of Palau at the United Nations, told AFP by email. 'We do not have the luxury of large budgets at our disposal to ensure our participation,' she said on behalf of the countries that dot oceans worldwide and are especially vulnerable to sea level rise and superstorms amplified by global warming. 'If our delegations are reduced or unable to participate effectively, it would be a failure in the pursuit of climate justice for those whose lives and livelihoods are on the front line of a crisis they did not cause,' Seid said. The UN climate conference will be held in November in Belem, an Amazonian city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel accommodations. Less than 100 days before the event, the prices have caused such widespread consternation that some countries have asked for the conference to be moved to another city. Austria's head of state this week cancelled his planned trip, citing 'exceptionally high costs'. Recent months have seen hotels advertising rooms at 1,200 euros (US$1,400) a night. Some offerings on the Airbnb booking platform were even higher. Airbnb said it was 'committed to increasing efforts to raise awareness in the local hosting community and encourage responsible practices'. Since November 2023 the number of listings for the Belem region had surged to 6,100 from 1,000, 'which represents around 19,000 beds', it told AFP, in a statement. The COP30 presidency, which does not intend to move the event, has offered reduced-price accommodation for developing and island countries, including cabins on cruise ships. But the price of these rooms is 'still higher' than the package agreed for UN-backed travellers, Seid said. 'The allocation of 15 rooms per delegation is also alarming, meaning that many of our countries would be forced to reduce the size of their delegations,' she said. The COP30 president, Andre Correa do Lago, acknowledged this month that there were 'extreme concerns' and that 'reducing delegations is obviously not what Brazil wants because we need a very intense and productive COP'. 'We are trying to find solutions to this price issue,' he told journalists.
Japan Times
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Pressure from oil producers and U.S. threaten global pact on plastics pollution
Hopes for a "last-chance" ambitious global treaty to curb plastic pollution have dimmed as delegates gather this week at the United Nations in Geneva for what was intended to be the final round of negotiations. Diplomats and climate advocates warn that efforts by the European Union and small island states to cap virgin plastic production — fueled by petroleum, coal and gas — are threatened by opposition from petrochemical-producing countries and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD. "This is really our last best chance. As pollution grows, it deepens the burden for those who are least responsible and least able to adapt," said Ilana Seid, permanent representative of Palau and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Delegates will meet officially from Tuesday for the sixth round of talks, after a meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in South Korea late last year ended without a path forward on capping plastic pollution. The most divisive issues include capping production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty. Delegates said that oil states, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, plan to challenge key treaty provisions and push for voluntary or national measures, hindering progress toward a legally binding agreement to tackle the root cause of plastic pollution. Government spokespeople for Saudi Arabia and Russia were not immediately available for comment. Andres Del Castillo, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), a nonprofit providing legal counsel to some countries attending the talks, said oil states were questioning even basic facts about the harm to health caused by plastics. "We are in a moment of revisionism, where even science is highly politicized," he said. The U.S. State Department said it will lead a delegation supporting a treaty on reducing plastic pollution that doesn't impose burdensome restrictions on producers that could hinder U.S. companies. A source familiar with the talks said the U.S. seeks to limit the treaty's scope to downstream issues like waste disposal, recycling and product design. It comes as the Trump administration rolls back environmental policies, including a long-standing finding on greenhouse gas emissions endangering health. Over 1,000 delegates, including scientists and petrochemical lobbyists, will attend the talks, raising concerns among proponents of an ambitious agreement that industry influence may create a watered-down deal focused on waste management, instead of production limits. The petrochemical industry said it continues to support a global treaty and has been urging the U.S. administration and Congress to "lean in" in negotiations. Plastic pollutes a mangrove area near Panama City, Panama, in December 2024. | REUTERS Stewart Harris, spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Associations, said the U.S. in particular has an opportunity "not just at the negotiating table, but really on the implementation of the agreement" to promote the use of new technologies in mechanical recycling and advanced recycling, which turns plastic waste into fuels, plastics and other products, globally. Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers sent separate letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday pushing for divergent approaches. A group of House of Representatives Republicans led by Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas urged the U.S. delegation to push for a treaty that focuses on expanding recycling technology, while a group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Jeff Merkely of Oregon pushed for a deal that includes plastic production caps. Two-thirds of the Senate is needed to ratify a treaty. Small island states are particularly impacted by plastic waste washing ashore, threatening their fishing and tourism economies. They stress an urgent need for dedicated international funding to clean up existing pollution. "Plastics are a concern for human health because (plastic) contains about 16,000 chemicals, and a quarter of these are known to be hazardous to human health," said Dr. Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. Jodie Roussell, global public affairs lead at food giant Nestle and a member of a 300-company coalition backing a treaty to reduce plastic pollution, said that harmonizing international regulations on packaging reduction and sustainable material use would be the most cost-effective approach. French politician Philippe Bolo, a member of the global Interparliamentary Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, said that a weak, watered-down treaty that focuses on waste management must be avoided. Bolo and a diplomatic source from a country attending the talks said the potential of a vote or even a breakaway agreement among more ambitious countries could be explored, as a last resort. Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, however, said countries should push for a meaningful pact agreed by consensus. "We're not here to get something meaningless ... you would want something that is effective, that has everybody inside, and therefore everybody committed to it," she said.
Reuters
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Oil producer pressure, Trump rollbacks threaten global treaty on plastics pollution
GENEVA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Hopes for a "last-chance" ambitious global treaty to curb plastic pollution have dimmed as delegates gather this week at the United Nations in Geneva for what was intended to be the final round of negotiations. Diplomats and climate advocates warn that efforts by the European Union and small island states to cap virgin plastic production - fuelled by petroleum, coal and gas - are threatened by opposition from petrochemical-producing countries and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD. "This is really our last best chance. As pollution grows, it deepens the burden for those who are least responsible and least able to adapt," said Ilana Seid, permanent representative of Palau and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Delegates will meet officially from Tuesday for the sixth round of talks, after a meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in South Korea late last year ended without a path forward on capping plastic pollution. The most divisive issues include capping production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty. Delegates told Reuters that oil states, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, plan to challenge key treaty provisions and push for voluntary or national measures, hindering progress toward a legally binding agreement to tackle the root cause of plastic pollution. Government spokespeople for Saudi Arabia and Russia were not immediately available for comment. Andres Del Castillo, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), a non-profit providing legal counsel to some countries attending the talks, said oil states were questioning even basic facts about the harm to health caused by plastics. "We are in a moment of revisionism, where even science is highly politicized," he said. The U.S. State Department told Reuters it will lead a delegation supporting a treaty on reducing plastic pollution that doesn't impose burdensome restrictions on producers that could hinder U.S. companies. A source familiar with the talks said the U.S. seeks to limit the treaty's scope to downstream issues like waste disposal, recycling and product design. It comes as the Trump administration rolls back environmental policies, including a longstanding finding on greenhouse gas emissions endangering health. Over 1,000 delegates, including scientists and petrochemical lobbyists, will attend the talks, raising concerns among proponents of an ambitious agreement that industry influence may create a watered-down deal focused on waste management, instead of production limits. The petrochemical industry said it continues to support a global treaty and has been urging the U.S. administration and Congress to "lean in" in negotiations. Stewart Harris, spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Associations, said the U.S. in particular has an opportunity "not just at the negotiating table, but really on the implementation of the agreement" to promote the use of new technologies in mechanical recycling and advanced recycling, which turns plastic waste into fuels, plastics and other products, globally. Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers sent separate letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday pushing for divergent approaches. A group of House of Representatives Republicans led by Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas urged the U.S. delegation to push for a treaty that focuses on expanding recycling technology, while a group of Senate Democrats led by Senator Jeff Merkely of Oregon pushed for a deal that includes plastic production caps. Two-thirds of the Senate is needed to ratify a treaty. Small island states are particularly impacted by plastic waste washing ashore, threatening their fishing and tourism economies. They stress an urgent need for dedicated international funding to clean up existing pollution. "Plastics are a concern for human health because (plastic) contains about 16,000 chemicals, and a quarter of these are known to be hazardous to human health," said Dr. Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. Jodie Roussell, global public affairs lead at food giant Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab and a member of a 300-company coalition backing a treaty to reduce plastic pollution, told Reuters that harmonizing international regulations on packaging reduction and sustainable material use would be the most cost-effective approach. French politician Philippe Bolo, a member of the global Interparliamentary Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, said that a weak, watered-down treaty that focuses on waste management must be avoided. Bolo and a diplomatic source from a country attending the talks said the potential of a vote or even a breakaway agreement among more ambitious countries could be explored, as a last resort. Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, however, said countries should push for a meaningful pact agreed by consensus. "We're not here to get something meaningless... you would want something that is effective, that has everybody inside, and therefore everybody committed to it," she said.
