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Why the world is divided on plastic as UN treaty talks underway

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Politics
Irish Examiner

Why the world is divided on plastic as UN treaty talks underway

Almost every week seems to bring a new report that plastic is even worse than had been thought for both human and planetary health. This week, it's a paper in the Lancet that warns of a 'grave, growing' danger from the rising tide of the material, and puts its health-related economic costs at more than $1.5 trillion a year. Yet, as diplomats gather for 10 days in Switzerland to negotiate an international treaty to tackle plastic pollution, the world seems further away from an agreement than it did when this process started three years ago. The gathering convened by the United Nations is the sixth round of talks, after a previous 'final' conference in Busan, South Korea, failed last winter. In the interim, there have been numerous negotiations to wrangle down the proposed text of the treaty. This cuts down on the work that delegates need to do in person. 'We are here to find a solution while not leaving anyone behind, and while ensuring that the economic wheels will keep turning,' Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said at the opening press conference on Tuesday. 'What is sure is that no one wants to live with the plastic pollution.' Few places on the planet are free from plastic pollution which is a fact of life today in Bali, Indonesia. Picture: Unsplash/Naja Bertolt Jensen /UN Nevertheless, there remains a fundamental rift between countries that want a broad treaty capping the amount of new plastic produced and certain toxic chemicals in them, and a smaller group that wants to limit the agreement to improving plastic waste collection and boosting recycling. This split has dominated previous rounds of talks. 'I do see that division persisting,' said Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund — one of the many NGOs pushing for a stricter treaty. Differences will likely be even harder to overcome this time around because the world has seen leadership changes since Busan — most notably the re-election of US President Donald Trump, whose policies favor extracting more fossil fuels, the building blocks of plastic. The US 'supports an agreement that respects national sovereignty and focuses on reducing plastic pollution without imposing onerous restrictions on producers,' a State Department spokesperson said. The State Department leads the US delegation at the talks. Jessica Roff, plastics and petrochemicals campaign manager for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) US & Canada, described the US position as 'disappointing". 'The only way to effectively address the plastic crisis around the world is to have a legally binding treaty with production reduction at its core,' she said. Meanwhile, the volume of plastic in the world and the scientific record of its risks keep rising. 'Giant Plastic Tap' sculpture by Canadian artist Benjamin Von Wong displayed outside the fourth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada, on April 23, 2024. Picture: Dave Chan / AFP Plastics production continues to grow explosively, according to a 2024 report from the the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It doubled between 2000 and 2019, from 234 to 460 million tons. Without more ambitious policies, the amount of plastics produced around the world is set to reach 736 million tons by 2040. Of the 16,000-plus chemicals in plastics, more than one-fourth are known to be hazardous to human health, while the majority have never been tested for toxicity, according to a recent paper in Nature. These chemicals appear to be found in every major plastic type, the study found. But already, some have been linked to reproductive conditions, lower IQ in children and cancer and stroke risk in adults, with the highest risks seen when exposure occurs in utero, in infancy or in early childhood. Scientists are in the early stages of understanding the health effects of microplastic and nanoplastic particles, which have been detected in human organs, blood and semen. A paper published just last week finds that adult humans inhale 68,000 lung-penetrating microplastic fragments a day — 100 times previous estimates. A penguin trapped in a discarded plastic net Another from last year found that patients with the particles in the walls of their blood vessels had a higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death roughly three years later. There's also evidence that plastics' impact on climate change is more powerful than previously thought. A 2024 paper by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that in 2019, primary plastics production generated 2.24 gigatons of CO2 equivalent, or 5.3% of total greenhouse gas emissions that year — significantly more than one previous estimate of 3.4%. A new initiative called the Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics will monitor global efforts to reduce plastic exposure and mitigate its risks. It is a joint project of Boston College, Heidelberg University in Germany, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and Australia's Minderoo Foundation. 'Plastic has been kind of invisible, overshadowed by the climate crisis, by air pollution, by things like wildfires,' said Boston College Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, lead author of the new Lancet literature review and a co-chair of the initiative. 'It's taken us a while to realise the threat plastic pollution poses.' — Bloomberg

Plastic Pollution Treaty 2025: Will world leaders finally address the $1.5 trillion health crisis in Geneva?

Economic Times

4 days ago

Health
Economic Times

Plastic Pollution Treaty 2025: Will world leaders finally address the $1.5 trillion health crisis in Geneva?

Synopsis Global plastic treaty talks in Geneva 2025: Global leaders are meeting in Geneva to discuss a treaty on plastic pollution. A new report highlights the health risks of plastics. Plastic exposure can harm human health at every stage of life. Plastic production is increasing, while recycling efforts lag. The plastic crisis is connected to the climate crisis. Experts urge action to address this global problem. AP Plastic items are seen on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 before the second segment of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2). (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP) Global plastic treaty talks in Geneva 2025: As nearly 180 nations gather in Geneva this week for talks on what could become the world's first global treaty on plastic pollution, a new medical report is calling on leaders to confront a deeply personal consequence of plastic waste: human health, as per a Monday in The Lancet medical journal, the report warns that plastic is a "grave, growing and under-recognized danger" to health that costs about $1.5 trillion a year, as reported by CBS News. The latest review of existing evidence, which was conducted by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of the fresh talks in Geneva, where experts have called on delegates from about 180 nations to attend the gathering and finally agree on a treaty after previous failed attempts, according to the Landrigan, a doctor and researcher at Boston College, highlighted that, "It is incumbent on us to act in response," adding, "To those meeting in Geneva: please take up the challenge and the opportunity of finding the common ground that will enable meaningful and effective international cooperation in response to this global crisis," as quoted by the CBS News report. ALSO READ: Top economist issues chilling recession warning: The Fed can't save us this time The report mentions that, "Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually," as quoted by the CBS News recent umbrella review of epidemiological research on the health impacts of plastic chemicals showed "consistent evidence for multiple health effects at all stages of human life for many plastic chemicals" and found that infants and young children were especially at risk," as quoted in the CBS News report. The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics report pointed out that, "These effects include impaired reproductive potential (eg, polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis), perinatal effects (eg, miscarriage, reduced birthweight, and malformations of the genital organs), diminished cognitive function (eg, intelligence quotient loss), insulin resistance, hypertension and obesity in children, and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, and cancer in adults," as quoted in the report. ALSO READ: As the July jobs report paints a grim picture, 114 companies plan layoffs in August - is yours on the list? The report found that the amount of plastic produced by the world has risen from two million tons in 1950 to 475 million tons in 2022, as per CBS News. While the amount of plastic is projected to triple by 2060 and currently just less than 10% of all plastic is recycled, according to the explained that plastic is made from fossil fuels, and the world's plastic "crisis" is connected to its climate crisis, saying, "There is no understating the magnitude of both the climate crisis and the plastic crisis," as quoted in the said, "They are both causing disease, death and disability today in tens of thousands of people, and these harms will become more severe in the years ahead as the planet continues to warm and plastic production continues to increase," as quoted by the CBS News does plastic affect my health?Many plastics contain harmful chemicals that can interfere with hormones, cause reproductive issues, and increase the risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes and cancer, as per the CBS News report. Is plastic connected to climate change? Yes. Plastic is made from fossil fuels, and its production and disposal contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, as per the CBS News report.

Greenpeace activists, banned from leaving S. Korea, attend first trial hearing

Korea Herald

16-05-2025

Politics
Korea Herald

Greenpeace activists, banned from leaving S. Korea, attend first trial hearing

Five Greenpeace activists, including the captain of the group's iconic Rainbow Warrior ship, appeared in a Seoul courtroom on Friday for the first hearing related to a protest staged last November during a global plastics summit in Busan. The activists — UK, German and Mexican nationals — have been charged with obstruction of business and unlawful intrusion onto a vessel. The charges stem from a demonstration held off the coast of Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, coinciding with the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. During the protest, the activists boarded a vessel transporting plastic resin and unfurled a banner that read 'Strong Plastics Treaty,' urging negotiators to push for a binding international agreement to reduce plastic production. Following the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, the activists held a press conference outside the courthouse, reiterating their call for a robust global treaty to address plastic pollution at its source. All five individuals have been prohibited from leaving South Korea, pending the outcome of the trial.