• The fifth meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) did not adopt any treaty against plastic pollution.
• A victory for plastic- and oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. The inertia of the United States and China also played a role.
• Negotiations will continue in 2025, but the date and venue have not yet been decided.

"In Busan we ran out of time to reach a global treaty on plastics and in the end we failed to live up to the mandate and the opportunity we were given." These are the bitter words with which Christina Dixon, oceans campaign lead at the IEA (the International Energy Agency), commented on the conclusion of the fifth meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) held in Busan, South Korea, which aimed to finalise a legally binding global treaty to reduce plastic pollution. The international meeting ended without an agreement.

A victory for plastic and oil producers

More than 100 nations, led by Panama, supported the introduction of limits on plastic production to effectively address the environmental crisis. By contrast, a small group of major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, opposed such restrictions, preferring to focus instrumentally on the management of plastic waste. According to reports by the news outlet Politico, Saudi Arabia led a concerted effort to obstruct any proposed agreement that could limit plastic production. Kuwait, for instance, intervened to point out that "we are not here to end plastic itself, but plastic pollution."

Even though fossil fuel producers once again blocked progress, international pressure for a strong agreement on plastics increased. "We did not get what we came for: a binding treaty that addresses the full life cycle of plastics," declared Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, Panama's special representative for climate change, during the talks. "Yet, amid the disappointment, there are small glimmers of progress." Also weighing on the outcome was the uncertain stance of China and the United States, the world's two largest producers of plastics: both countries were absent from the press conference organised by members of the High ambition coalition, the group of countries that pushed hardest for a stringent treaty.

95 countries say "no" to a partial agreement based solely on voluntary measures

Dixon of the IEA also sees glimmers of hope: "These negotiations were blocked by the plastics industry and the countries aligned with it, which have no intention of addressing plastic pollution or of allowing others to do so. In the face of this obstructionism, large groups of diverse countries launched calls for an ambitious treaty. We have won the hearts and minds of the majority of the world and will continue to fight in solidarity with those seeking real solutions to end the harm caused by plastic pollution."

During the hectic plenary session on the final day of INC-5, a group of 95 countries from various regions of the world, including Italy, declared that they would not accept a treaty that did not include binding global measures and the progressive elimination of harmful chemicals and the most problematic plastic products, such as single-use items. Almost all the countries rose to their feet and applauded the address by Rwanda's representative, Juliet Kabera, who called on everyone present to demonstrate their support for a binding and ambitious treaty covering the full life cycle of plastics as an effective measure to prevent pollution. Subsequently, 85 nations, including Italy, issued a joint statement entitled Standing up for ambition: "We express our strong concern about the continuing demands by a small group of countries to remove from the text the binding provisions that are indispensable to the effectiveness of the treaty," the text reads. "A treaty lacking these elements and based solely on voluntary measures would not be acceptable."

Inger Andersen @andersen_inger

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As we leave Busan, it is clear that there are still promises we must keep to secure a #PlasticsTreaty.

But it remains clear how much the world demands this deal.

Because together we can - and we will - #BeatPlasticPollution

My closing #INC5 speech: unep.org/news-and-stori…

♥ 166💬 18 2 dic 2024 · Apri su X →

Talks on the global plastics treaty will continue in 2025

We produce 460 million tonnes of plastic every year, a figure set to triple by 2060. From the post-war period to the present day, 50 per cent of plastic waste has ended up in landfill, only 9 per cent has been recycled, and a full 22 per cent has been dispersed into the environment. While on the one hand it is essential to attempt to repair the damage to ecosystems, including by harnessing the potential of new technologies, on the other hand it is necessary to intervene upstream, replacing single-use plastics with more sustainable alternatives. The latter option is one that those whose business revolves around this material are loath to accept. Greenpeace found that some of the enormous petrochemical companies (including Basf, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron) that had formed an alliance to reduce plastic waste — the Alliance to end plastic waste — have, over the past five years, produced a thousand times more plastic than they have removed from the environment.

Meanwhile, delegates agreed on a "president's text" prepared by the chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), Ecuadorian ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, which will serve as the basis for future negotiations. Vayas stressed that the Committee's mandate "has always been ambitious," but that ambition takes time to realise. Negotiations will continue in 2025, but the date and venue have not yet been decided.