Divisions on curbing plastic waste persist as UN treaty talks start

By Valerie Volcovici and Joyce Lee

BUSAN/BAKU (Reuters) -As delegates from 175 international locations gathered in Busan, South Korea on Monday for the fifth spherical of talks geared toward securing a world treaty to curb plastic air pollution, lingering divisions forged doubts on whether or not a last settlement was in sight.

South Korea is internet hosting the fifth and ostensibly last U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) assembly this week, after the earlier spherical of talks in Ottawa in April ended with no path ahead on capping plastic manufacturing.

As a substitute, talks can be centered on chemical substances of concern and different measures after petrochemical-producing nations reminiscent of Saudi Arabia and China strongly opposed efforts to focus on plastic manufacturing, over the protests of nations that bear the brunt of plastic air pollution.

The divisions plaguing the plastics treaty talks echo conflicts which have lengthy stalled U.N. efforts to curb international warming, with the newest local weather summit, COP29, having simply ended with an settlement poorer nations assailed as insufficient.

INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso advised reporters on Monday he was assured this week’s negotiations would yield a treaty or a textual content resulting in a treaty.

“With out vital intervention the quantity of plastic coming into the atmosphere yearly by 2040 is anticipated to almost double in comparison with 2022,” Valdivieso stated on the opening session in Busan on Monday.

“It’s about humanity rising to satisfy an existential problem,” he stated, noting that microplastics have been present in human organs.

America raised eyebrows in August when it stated it might again plastic manufacturing caps within the treaty, placing it in alignment with the EU, Kenya, Peru and different international locations within the Excessive Ambition Coalition.

The election of Donald Trump as president, nonetheless, has raised questions on that place, as throughout his first presidency he shunned multilateral agreements and any commitments to gradual or cease U.S. oil and petrochemical manufacturing.

The U.S. delegation didn’t reply questions on whether or not it might reverse its new place to assist plastic manufacturing caps. However it “helps guaranteeing that the worldwide instrument addresses plastic merchandise, chemical substances utilized in plastic merchandise, and the availability of major plastic polymers,” in keeping with a spokesperson for the White Home Council on Environmental High quality.

Inger Andersen, govt director of the U.N. Surroundings Programme, on Monday urged delegates divided over curbing plastic merchandise and chemical substances and a financing mechanism to cope with plastic waste to do not forget that the 2022 U.N. Surroundings Meeting decision referred to as for “sustainable manufacturing and consumption of plastics taking a lifecycle strategy”.

IMPACT ON HEALTH

For a Pacific island nation like Fiji, a world plastics treaty is essential to guard its fragile ecosystem and public well being, stated Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s local weather minister and chief local weather and plastics negotiator.

He advised Reuters on the sidelines of the twenty ninth U.N. Local weather Change Convention this month that regardless of not producing any plastic, Fiji is bearing the brunt of its downstream air pollution.

“The place do these plastics find yourself? It results in our oceans, in our landfill, in our backyards. And the affect of the plastics breaking down into little substances has detrimental results, not solely on the atmosphere, however on us as people, on our well being,” he stated, noting research that confirmed many of the fish consumed within the nation was polluted with microplastics.

Whereas supporting a world treaty, the petrochemical trade has been vocal in urging governments to keep away from setting obligatory plastic manufacturing caps, and concentrate on options to scale back plastic waste, like recycling.

“We’d see a treaty profitable if it might actually put … emphasis on ending plastic air pollution. Nothing else ought to be the main target,” stated Martin Jung, president for efficiency supplies at chemical producer BASF.

Earlier talks have additionally mentioned trying to find types of funding to assist growing international locations implement the treaty.

At COP29, France, Kenya and Barbados floated organising a collection of world levies on sure sectors that might assist ramp up the amount of cash that could possibly be made obtainable to growing international locations in search of assist to assist their clear power transition and deal with the more and more extreme impacts of local weather change.

The proposal included a charge of $60-$70/ton on major polymer manufacturing, which is on common round 5-7% of the polymer worth, seen doubtlessly elevating an estimated $25-$35 billion per yr.

Business teams have rejected the thought, saying it would increase client costs.