Latest news with #landmark treaty
Japan Times
10-08-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Momentum sagging at U.N. plastic pollution treaty talks
Talks on forging a landmark treaty to combat the scourge of plastic pollution were stumbling Saturday, with progress slow and countries wildly at odds on how far the proposed agreement should go. The negotiations, which opened on Tuesday, have four working days left to strike a legally-binding instrument that would tackle the growing problem choking the environment. In a blunt midway assessment, talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso warned the 184 countries negotiating at the United Nations that they had to get shifting to get a deal. "Progress made has not been sufficient," Vayas told delegates. "A real push to achieve our common goal is needed," the Ecuadoran diplomat said, adding that Thursday was not a just deadline but "a date by which we must deliver. "Some articles still have unresolved issues and show little progress towards reaching a common understanding," Vayas lamented. The key fracture is between countries that want to focus on waste management and others who want a more ambitious treaty that also cuts production and eliminates use of the most toxic chemicals. And with the talks relying on finding consensus, it has become a game of brinkmanship. A diplomatic source told reporters that many informal meetings had been scrambled together for Sunday's day off to try and break the deadlock. "If nothing changes, we won't get there," the source added. Countries have reconvened in Geneva after the failure of the supposedly fifth and final round of negotiations in Busan, South Korea in 2024. After four days of talks, the draft text has ballooned from 22 to 35 pages — with the number of brackets in the text going up near fivefold to almost 1,500 as countries insert a blizzard of conflicting wishes and ideas. The talks are mandated to look at the full life cycle of plastic, from production to pollution, but some countries are unhappy with such a wide scope. Kuwait spoke up for the so-called Like-Minded Group — a nebulous cluster of mostly oil-producing nations which rejects production limits and wants to focus on treating waste. "Let us agree on what we can agree. Consensus must be the basis of all our decisions," Kuwait insisted. Nudging in the same direction, Saudi Arabia, speaking for the Arab Group, said the responsible way ahead was to start considering what bits of the text "may not make it to the final outcome due to irreconcilable divergence." But given how little is truly agreed on, Uruguay warned that consensus "cannot be used as a justification to not achieve our objectives." Eirik Lindebjerg, global plastics adviser for the World Wide Fund for Nature, said the Like-Minded Group's proposal was "another attempt to make it a waste management agreement", and to stifle talks on reducing the amount of plastic in circulation. The U.N. Environment Program is hosting the talks and swiftly called a press conference after the stock-take session. UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said a deal was "really within our grasp, even though today it might not look so." "Despite the fog of negotiations I'm really encouraged," she told reporters, insisting: "There is a pathway to success." Vayas added: "We need to accelerate. We need a better rhythm in this and we need to also work in such a way that it will be clear that we will deliver by the end." Afterward, Bjorn Beeler, executive director at IPEN, a global network aimed at limiting toxic chemicals, said: "This whole process has not been able to take decisions and is still collecting ideas. We're sleepwalking towards a cliff and if we don't wake up, we're falling off." Plastic pollution 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. More than 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. Plastic production is set to triple by 2060. Panama's negotiator Juan Monterrey Gomez took the floor to slam those countries wanting to stop the treaty from encompassing the entire life cycle of plastic. He said microplastics "are in our blood, in our lungs and in the first cry of a new-born child. Our bodies are living proof of a system that profits from poisoning us." "We cannot recycle our way out of this crisis."
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Direct trains from UK to historical European city with €4 beers will be running soon
The United Kingdom and Germany have signed a landmark treaty that will pave the way for a direct rail link between London and Berlin. Dubbed The Kensington Treaty, the agreement is said to 'fundamentally change how millions of people travel', with hopes the rail link will be up and running by the early 2030s. The agreement marks a significant shift in relations between the two nations, and was sealed during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's first official visit to the UK on 17 July. The signing ceremony took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington, alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. One of the deal's key elements, as outlined in the UK governments Plan for Change, is the commitment to establish a long-distance, direct passenger rail service between the two capitals, according to The Times. It would also provide a direct link between London and other major German cities, such as Frankfurt. A joint UK-Germany transport taskforce will now assess the infrastructure, border and security needs required to establish the route. The taskforce will also look into commercial and technical requirements, such as safety standards and the potential to collaborate with rail operators to make direct services a reality. The United Kingdom and Germany have signed a landmark treaty that will pave the way for a direct rail link between London and Berlin (Pictured: Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on 17 July) Dubbed The Kensington Treaty, the agreement is said to 'fundamentally change how millions of people travel,' with hopes the rail link will be up and running by the early 2030s (Pictured: a train of the regional express line RE 1 to Eisenhüttenstadt) Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: 'We're pioneering a new era of European rail connectivity and are determined to put Britain at the heart of a better-connected continent. 'The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie - in just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights direct from the comfort of a train, thanks to a direct connection linking London and Berlin. 'This landmark agreement – part of a new treaty the Prime Minister will sign with Chancellor Merz today - has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of people travel between our two countries, offering a faster, more convenient and significantly greener alternative to flying.' Eurostar and other rail operators initially put expansion plans in serving on hold following the UK's departure from the EU due to the need to address logistical and operational challenges related to border controls and new regulations. While expansion was initially delayed, Eurostar has since announced plans to launch direct services to Frankfurt and Geneva in the early 2030s, and is also working on a direct route to Berlin. Meanwhile, passengers will have more choice of international train services through the Channel Tunnel, the rail regulator said - threatening Eurostar's 31-year monopoly. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed it will allocate spare capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London, to either one new operator or Eurostar itself, which has plans to grow. Several companies are developing plans to run passenger trains through the tunnel - rivalling Eurostar, which has held a monopoly since the infrastructure opened in 1994. The agreement marks a significant shift in relations between the two nations, and was sealed during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's first official visit to the UK on 17 July The signing ceremony took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington, alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Organisations developing proposals for rival services include billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group; Italy's state-owned railway company FS Italiane Group; and Gemini Trains, which is chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. Access to depot space for maintaining and storing trains is a critical requirement for new operators or Eurostar to boost services. It is the only UK site able to support trains that can be used in the Channel Tunnel and on tracks in continental Europe. However, the ORR also said it believes 'there is room for at most one new operator, or for Eurostar to grow' - meaning not all the rival services are likely to succeed. The regulator has urged applicants to submit detailed plans on how to allocate capacity. From London St Pancras, Eurostar currently serves Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, as well as running seasonal ski trains to the French Alps.
