Plastic production is not a new thing. But since the start of the 1900s, it has shown some exponential growth. To get an estimated idea of just how much we are talking about, consider the approximately 400 million metric tons produced annually. This can partly be explained because of the versatile nature of the product as well as its widespread use in a variety of applications. On a production basis, Asia ranks as the largest producer. Breaking down and China is the most significant contributor to the global output.
Breaking plastic down, piece by piece
Although a very versatile product, plastic does have quite an impact on the environment. With the rise in production, there is also widespread concern about environmental sustainability. During 2015 alone, the plastic waste amounted to almost 6300 million metric tons. Only about 9% of this enormous quantity has been recycled. 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 under Donald Trump. 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.
President Trump’s take on matters
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. 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.
A treaty designed to benefit the environment
Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health, and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD. 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.
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.
The global plastics treaty has been initiated by the UN to tackle the ever-increasing crisis of plastic pollution. During the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022, a resolution was adopted. According to this, 175 nations committed to the development of legally binding instruments that would address plastic pollution, with a specific focus on the marine environment.
GCN.com/Reuters