Latest news with #oilproducing
LBCI
4 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
World plastic pollution treaty talks collapse with no deal
Talks aimed at striking a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution fell apart Friday as countries failed to find consensus on how the world should tackle the ever-growing scourge. Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground. A large bloc wants bold action, such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states want to focus more narrowly on waste management. The stalemate was a resounding failure for the environment and for international diplomacy at a time when its frailties are in the spotlight. Countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unravelled, but said they wanted future negotiations -- despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement. "We have missed a historic opportunity, but we have to keep going and act urgently," said Cuba. Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement." Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said: "For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture." AFP
France 24
4 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
New compromise but still no deal at plastic pollution talks
The new draft, issued by the talks chair after the original Thursday deadline passed, contains more than 100 unresolved passages of text -- but constitutes an "acceptable basis for negotiation", two sources from different governments told AFP. However, several environmental NGOs said the new text still did not go far enough to protect human health and the environment. After three years of negotiations, nations wanting bold action to turn the tide on plastic garbage were trying to build last-minute bridges with a group driven by oil-producing states. Talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso issued his revised draft text after countries from all corners brutally shredded his previous version issued Wednesday, plunging the talks into disarray. The Ecuadoran diplomat spent Thursday in frantic negotiation with multiple regional groups, resulting in a new text that went some way towards appeasing both major blocs. The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the European Union, Britain and Canada, and many African and Latin American countries, wants to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics. A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia -- want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. The new text "is far from what is needed to end plastic pollution," however, "it can be the springboard to get there, if we sharpen it in a next round", Panama's negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey said. A diplomatic source from another country told AFP it was an "acceptable basis for negotiation". In search of 'middle ground' A total of 185 countries have been negotiating since August 5 at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. Five previous rounds of talks over three years failed to land a treaty. One country's chief negotiator told AFP the new draft felt "more balanced text -- not too bad but not too good either. At least it feels like the chair is listening. But many of us are asking what's going to be the next steps". As for whether there was much movement from the Like-Minded Group, the negotiator said: "Nothing. It's the same...I'm not so sure if there's momentum." The plastic pollution problem 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. On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed one billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. With 15 million tonnes of plastic dumped in the ocean every minute, French President Emmanuel Macron asked: "What are we waiting for to act?" "I urge all states gathered in Geneva to adopt an agreement that truly meets the scale of this environmental and public health emergency," he posted on X. "We need to have a coherent global treaty. We can't do it on our own," said Environment Minister Deborah Barasa of Kenya, a member of the High Ambition Coalition seeking aggressive action on plastic waste. Barasa told AFP that nations could strike a treaty now, then work out some of the finer details down the line. "We need to come to a middle ground," she said. IPEN, a global network aimed at limiting toxic chemicals, said the level of ambition in the new draft text "cannot become the new normal for these negotiations". And the World Wide Fund for Nature told AFP: "Efforts to pull together a treaty that all parties will accept has amounted to a text so compromised, so inconsequential, it cannot hope to tackle the crisis in any meaningful way."
CNA
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
No agreement in sight as countries reject draft text of global plastic pollution treaty
It's the final day of negotiations for a global plastics treaty. Talks are in disarray after dozens of countries rejected the latest draft text yesterday. A revised draft agreement tackling plastic pollution is expected, but major sticking points remain among the 184 countries involved. Some want more ambitious measures, such as limits on plastic production and improved clean-up and recycling efforts. Others, such as oil-producing countries, are against imposing production limits. Will Denselow reports from Brussels.
The National
7 days ago
- Business
- The National
Opec expects tighter oil market in 2026 amid increased economic momentum
Opec has slightly increased its global oil demand forecast for 2026, expecting a tighter market amid economic momentum that is expected to continue next year. Demand for crude is expected to grow by 100,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million bpd, with a slower expansion in supplies from Opec's rivals, the Vienna-based alliance of oil-producing nations said in its monthly market report for August on Tuesday. Crude demand in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development countries is projected to grow by 200,000 bpd, while non-OECD nations would register a 1.2 million bpd rise, it said. Opec, however, kept its 2025 demand growth view unchanged at 1.3 million bpd. The group also revised its 2025 economic growth forecast higher, to 3 per cent, expecting the "strong momentum" in the first half of 2026 to continue into the later part of the year. Growth estimate this year, however, remained unchanged at 3.1 per cent. Growth in the US, the world's largest economy, was slightly revised upwards to 1.8 per cent for this year and remained at 2.1 per cent in the next. "The global economy continues to follow a stable growth trajectory ... economic data at the start of the second half of 2025 further confirms the resilience of global growth, despite persistent uncertainties related to US-centred trade tensions and broader geopolitical risks," Opec said. It did, however, warn that relations between the US and its partners, strained to various degrees by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, may be a root of trade-related uncertainties that may cause disruption in activity and some inflationary effects. "Nonetheless, a range of fiscal and monetary policy measures is expected to help offset these effects ... the forecast assumes that reasonable trade agreements will be maintained with most key US trading partners, allowing global economic uncertainty to ease further in the coming months," Opec said. Oil markets have remained volatile in a year featuring Mr Trump's tariff plans and the Iran-Israel conflict. Prices started the year strongly. The closing price of Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, peaked at more than $82 a barrel on January 15, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, hit almost $79 per barrel on that day. However, demand concerns, a slowing global economy and less-than-stellar growth in China, the world's largest crude importer, have dampened prices this year. Oil is also under pressure as members of Opec+ alliance of crude producers, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, continue to boost supply. This month, the group agreed to increase oil production by 547,000 bpd for September as members unwind voluntary cuts introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. That followed a 548,000 bpd rise in August and 411,000 bpd from May, June and July. However, Opec's report on Tuesday showed the group raised production by 335,000 bpd in July. Oil prices were down on Tuesday at 5.41pm UAE time, with Brent retreating 0.47 per cent to $66.32 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate shed 0.72 per cent to $63.50. Both benchmarks are down more than 11 per cent so far in 2025 against a backdrop of volatile trading.
