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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Countries race for late breakthrough in deadlocked plastic pollution talks
FILE PHOTO: Piles of plastic trash are transported to be sorted at the waste sorting plant of recycling company Remondis in Erftstadt, Germany, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo By Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge Talks to create the world's first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution hung in the balance late on Thursday as countries scrambled to bridge deep divisions over the extent of future curbs on a final day of negotiations in Geneva. Late Thursday night, countries awaited a new text which could be the basis for further negotiations after delegations who want an ambitious plastics treaty threw out the one proposed on Wednesday. States pushing for a comprehensive treaty, including Panama, Kenya, Britain and the European Union, shared frustration that key articles on the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste, as well as the harm to health, had been removed entirely from the text. Oil-producing nations are against curbs on the production of virgin plastics derived from petroleum, coal, and gas, while others want it to be limited and to have stricter controls over plastic products and hazardous chemicals. "It's proving unlikely all countries will be able to bridge their differences," said Zaynab Sadan of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), adding that agreement was as far away as it had ever been in nearly three years of talks. "A treaty that covers the full life cycle of plastics and can evolve with science is a vital step. A weak, static agreement serves no one," EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall said in a statement. "The next few hours will show whether we can rise to the moment," she added. Panama described Wednesday's draft text as "repulsive" and called for a complete rewrite. Saudi Arabia, which is resisting major curbs, said nothing could be agreed until the treaty's scope is clearly defined. More than 1,000 delegates have gathered in Geneva 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 deal. On Thursday, advocacy groups held a banner and chanted urging against a "weak treaty" as they waited for delegates to arrive in the U.N. plenary hall in Geneva for further discussions. The OECD warns that without intervention, plastic production will triple by 2060, further choking oceans, harming health, and exacerbating climate change. "It will be very important to spend every single hour of the last day of negotiation finding a good text that can deliver on the promise to end plastic pollution," said Giulia Carlini, a Senior Attorney for the Environmental Health Program of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). COMPROMISE Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, co-chair of the High Ambition Countries group, told Reuters that all parties need to compromise. "We are willing to discuss all articles, three, six, for example, to be able to create the package that can be good enough for everyone," he said, pointing to potential openness to re-discussing restrictions on chemicals and production. "We're optimistic ... We think this can be really good for our industry, society, and for the environment," Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, which is part of the American Chemistry Council, told Reuters. The Council, which supports a deal without limits on plastic production, warned that the U.S. might not ratify a treaty containing provisions to ban chemicals or restrict plastic production. However, Colombian lawmaker Juan Carlos Lozada urged that no deal would be better than a watered-down deal. Some 300 businesses, including Unilever, have pressed for an ambitious treaty that harmonizes rules globally. "If we don't get that degree of harmonization, we risk further fragmentation ... and higher costs," Ed Shepherd, senior global sustainability manager at Unilever, told Reuters. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Countries race for late breakthrough in deadlocked plastic pollution talks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Piles of plastic trash are transported to be sorted at the waste sorting plant of recycling company Remondis in Erftstadt, Germany, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo GENEVA - Talks to create the world's first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution are at risk of ending without a deal as countries race to find a potential compromise on the final day of negotiations in Geneva. Talks headed into their final hours on Thursday after countries who want an ambitious plastics treaty threw out the text proposed on Wednesday. States pushing for a comprehensive treaty, including Panama, Kenya, France and Britain, shared frustration that key articles on the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste, as well as the harm to health, had been removed entirely from the text. Oil-producing nations are against curbs on the production of virgin plastics derived from petroleum, coal, and gas, while others want it to be limited and to have stricter controls over plastic products and hazardous chemicals. "It's proving unlikely all countries will be able to bridge their differences," said Zaynab Sadan of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), adding that agreement was as far away as it had ever been in nearly three years of talks. Panama described the new draft text as "repulsive" and called for a complete rewrite. Saudi Arabia, which is resisting major curbs, said nothing could be agreed until the treaty's scope is clearly defined. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jalan Bukit Merah fire: PMD battery could have started fatal blaze, says SCDF Singapore askST: What to do in the event of a fire at home? Singapore 4 housebreaking suspects taken to Bukit Timah crime scene under police escort Asia AirAsia flight from KL to Incheon lands at the wrong airport in South Korea Singapore Reformative training for teen who cheated man of $47k Rolex watch on former stepdad's instructions Opinion Could telco consolidation spell the end of attractive mobile plans? Asia Strong India-Singapore ties key to economic growth amid 'volatile landscape': DPM Gan Asia Citizenship for foreign talent: How this footballer from Brazil became Vietnam's favourite 'Son' More than 1,000 delegates have gathered in Geneva 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 deal. The OECD warns that without intervention, plastic production will triple by 2060, further choking oceans, harming health, and exacerbating climate change. "It will be very important to spend every single hour of the last day of negotiation finding a good text that can deliver on the promise to end plastic pollution," said Giulia Carlini, a Senior Attorney for the Environmental Health Program of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). COMPROMISE Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, co-chair of the High Ambition Countries group, told Reuters that all parties need to compromise. "We are willing to discuss all articles, three, six, for example, to be able to create the package that can be good enough for everyone," he said, pointing to potential openness to re-discussing restrictions on chemicals and production. "We're optimistic ... We think this can be really good for our industry, society, and for the environment," Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, which is part of the American Chemistry Council, told Reuters. The Council, which supports a deal without limits on plastic production, warned that the U.S. might not ratify a treaty containing provisions to ban chemicals or restrict plastic production. However, Colombian lawmaker Juan Carlos Loazada urged that no deal would be better than a watered down deal. Some 300 businesses, including Unilever, have pressed for an ambitious treaty that harmonizes rules globally. "If we don't get that degree of harmonization, we risk further fragmentation ... and higher costs," Ed Shepherd, Senior Global Sustainability Manager at Unilever, told Reuters. REUTERS
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Germany granted citizenship to a record number of people in 2024, led by Syrians
FILE PHOTO: People walk at the promenade by the river Rhine with the skyline in the background including the Rheinturm in Duesseldorf, Germany, May 13, 2024. Picture taken with long exposure. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/ File Photo BERLIN - Germany granted citizenship to a record 291,955 people last year, a 46% increase from 2023, with Syrians making up the largest group, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday. Reforms in the citizenship law contributed to the jump, the office said. Last June Germany reduced its residency requirement for naturalization from eight years to five and even three in special cases. Many Syrians who arrived as refugees during 2015 and 2016 when former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands fleeing war and persecution in the Middle East became eligible for naturalization during 2024. As a result, they made up the largest group of new citizens, accounting for 28% of all naturalisations, or 83,150 people, a 10.1% increase. They were followed by Turks, Iraqis, Russians, and Afghans, who represented 8%, 5%, 4%, and 3% of the total, respectively. Russians saw the largest percentage increase in naturalisations, with the number rising to 12,980 in 2024 from 1,995 the previous year. The number of Turks taking German citizenship more than doubled to 22,525. The new citizenship law also allows individuals to retain their original citizenship while acquiring German nationality, enabling tens of thousands of Turkish citizens — many of whom, or whose ancestors, came to Germany as guest workers in the 1960s and 1970s — to become naturalized. However, Germany's new coalition government of the conservatives and Social Democrats plans to roll back some of these measures and reinstate a minimum waiting period of five years for citizenship. The conservatives have said citizenship should come at the end of a period of integration, not "jump-start" it, and fear shorter wait times to become a German citizen may drive increased migration and public resentment. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Germany granted citizenship to a record number of people in 2024, led by Syrians
FILE PHOTO: People walk at the promenade by the river Rhine with the skyline in the background including the Rheinturm in Duesseldorf, Germany, May 13, 2024. Picture taken with long exposure. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/ File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany granted citizenship to a record 291,955 people last year, a 46% increase from 2023, with Syrians making up the largest group, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday. Reforms in the citizenship law contributed to the jump, the office said. Last June Germany reduced its residency requirement for naturalization from eight years to five and even three in special cases. Many Syrians who arrived as refugees during 2015 and 2016 when former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands fleeing war and persecution in the Middle East became eligible for naturalization during 2024. As a result, they made up the largest group of new citizens, accounting for 28% of all naturalisations, or 83,150 people, a 10.1% increase. They were followed by Turks, Iraqis, Russians, and Afghans, who represented 8%, 5%, 4%, and 3% of the total, respectively. Russians saw the largest percentage increase in naturalisations, with the number rising to 12,980 in 2024 from 1,995 the previous year. The number of Turks taking German citizenship more than doubled to 22,525. The new citizenship law also allows individuals to retain their original citizenship while acquiring German nationality, enabling tens of thousands of Turkish citizens — many of whom, or whose ancestors, came to Germany as guest workers in the 1960s and 1970s — to become naturalized. However, Germany's new coalition government of the conservatives and Social Democrats plans to roll back some of these measures and reinstate a minimum waiting period of five years for citizenship. The conservatives have said citizenship should come at the end of a period of integration, not "jump-start" it, and fear shorter wait times to become a German citizen may drive increased migration and public resentment. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Rene Wagner; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
The Star
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Euro zone inflation eases below ECB target, supporting rate cut bets
EU flags flutter in front of European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany July 18, 2024. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo FRANKFURT: Euro zone inflation eased below the European Central Bank's target last month, data showed on Tuesday, underpinning expectations for another interest rate cut this week, even as global trade tensions fuel longer-term price pressures. Consumer price inflation in the 20 countries sharing the euro slowed to 1.9% in May from 2.2% a month earlier, below expectations for 2.0% on a fall in energy prices and a sharp decline in services inflation. A more closely watched reading on underlying inflation, or prices excluding volatile fuel and food prices, meanwhile slowed to 2.3% from 2.7%, driven by a slowdown in services price growth to 3.2% from 4.0%, Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency said. The ECB has cut interest rates seven times since last June and another move on Thursday is almost fully priced in given muted wage growth, easing energy prices, a strong euro and lukewarm economic growth, factors which all point in the direction of easing inflation. Price pressures are so weak that some economists even expect inflation to keep sinking below the ECB's 2% target this year and not rebounding until sometime in 2026. OPPOSING TRENDS This raises a dilemma for the ECB because the short and the longer-term outlooks for prices differ greatly since inflation could come under upward pressure from a host of factors further out. This is why investors think the ECB will pause with rate cuts after June and only make one more cut this year, possibly in the autumn. Interest rates are also firmly in the 'neutral' territory now, where they neither slow economic growth nor stimulate it, an argument for some to take a step back and see how erratic U.S. trade policy will impact growth and prices. Policy hawks have also warned that inflation could go back up soon, given unusually high geopolitical tensions. A trade war, increased tariffs, deglobalisation and the realignment of corporate value chains are all expected to increase prices. In addition, the continued decline of the working age population and investments related to defence and climate change could also raise price pressures. How these opposing trends will impact ECB policy is unclear for now but the ECB generally looks through short-term price volatility since it targets inflation in the medium term, a loosely defined concept that normally means one to two years out. Policymakers, however, could be forced to intervene if they think that a dip in prices is also pulling down or 'de-anchoring' longer-term expectations. - Reuters
