Talks to reinvigorate a floundering global plastics treaty appear to have stalled, according to analysts speaking on Tuesday. Negotiations were moving in a less ambitious direction, a top scientific expert told journalists on the scene.
The push to strike the world’s first treaty addressing humanity’s growing plastic pollution fell apart last August after opposition from oil-producing nations. The first public document since that collapse was released quietly over the weekend, but it quickly drew stinging criticism from environmental groups.
Julio Cordano of Chile, the chairman of the talks, emphasized that the document is “an informal reference document and does not constitute a negotiated or agreed text.” He noted the document took a “balanced approach,” with subjects where “views remain divergent” put into brackets.
Richard Thompson, a British marine biologist who coined the term microplastics, told reporters the document is extremely similar to the draft text that was rejected a year ago. Thompson, a researcher at Plymouth University who has served as an independent scientific observer to the talks, added that it is even slightly weaker.
Others were more scathing. The Center for International Environmental Law’s David Azoulay said the text fails not only future generations, but present ones, by cutting the international legal effort to address plastic pollution off at the knees.
Negotiators from 185 countries have struggled to find common ground between two broad groups. A majority of nations have called for ambitious, legally binding measures to curb the production of plastic, which is expected to boost gas projects in some regions, as plastic is derived from petroleum.
Related: AI progress stalls without better connectivity
However, a smaller bloc of mostly oil-producing states—including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Russia—have pushed back against such restrictions, seeking to focus more narrowly on waste management. Research published last year estimates that the many health problems caused by plastic pollution costs the world a significant amount annually.
Thompson suggested that rising pressure to reduce carbon emissions was leading some oil producers to seek an alternative market for growth by making plastic. He also expressed concern that independent scientific observers, including himself, had been excluded from offering expert advice to negotiators.
That creates unnecessary suspicion. Thompson said he saw no point in agreeing on something that is too weak to deliver, calling the treaty a once-in-a-planet opportunity.
Chairman Cordano said an updated version of the aid to negotiations will be prepared after the next round of informal talks in Bangkok from September 27 to 30.
Formal negotiations, hosted by the UN Environment Programme, are then scheduled for March 2027. It is unclear whether the current diplomatic deadlock will break before that deadline, especially as the bloc of opposing nations maintains its focus on waste management rather than production limits.
The financial incentive to maintain plastic demand remains high for these nations.
Leave a Reply