‘Never any consensus’: UN plastics conference fails to yield treaty

BUSAN, South Korea − Countries negotiating a global treaty to curb plastic pollution failed to reach agreement late Sunday, with more than 100 nations seeking to cap production while a handful of oil producers only willing to target plastic waste.

The fifth meeting of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) intended to yield a legally binding global accord was meant to be the final one. However, countries remained far apart on the basic scope of a treaty and could agree only to postpone key decisions and resume talks, dubbed INC 5.2, to a later date.

“It is clear that there is still persisting divergence,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.

The most divisive issues included capping plastic production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the deal.

An option proposed by Panama, backed by more than 100 countries, would have created a path for a global plastic production reduction target, while another proposal did not include production caps.

The fault lines were apparent in a revised document released Sunday by the meeting’s chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador, a report that may form the basis of an accord but remained riddled with options on the most sensitive issues.

“A treaty that … only relies on voluntary measures would not be acceptable,” said Juliet Kabera, director general of Rwanda’s Environment Management Authority. “It is time we take it seriously and negotiate a treaty that is fit for purpose and not built to fail.”

Oil producers gum up negotiations

A small number of oil-pumping nations, such as Saudi Arabia, have strongly opposed efforts to reduce plastic production and have tried to use procedural tactics to delay negotiations.

“There was never any consensus,” said Saudi Arabian delegate Abdulrahman Al Gwaiz. “There are a couple of articles that somehow seem to make it (into the document) despite our continued insistence that they are not within the scope.”

China, the United States, India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia were the top five primary polymer-producing nations in 2023, according to data provider Eunomia.

Had such divisions been overcome, the treaty would have been one of the most significant deals relating to environmental protection since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Climate summit not much more successful

The postponement comes just days after the turbulent conclusion of the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

At Baku, countries set a new global target for mobilizing $300 billion annually in climate finance, a deal deemed woefully insufficient by small island states and many developing countries.

The climate talks were also slowed by procedural maneuvers by Saudi Arabia – who objected to the inclusion of language that reaffirmed a previous commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.

Some negotiators said a few countries held the proceedings hostage, avoiding compromises needed by using the U.N.’s consensus process.

Senegal’s National Delegate Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla called it “a big mistake” to exclude voting during the entire negotiations, an agreement made last year during the second round of talks in Paris.

“This outcome underscores the complexity of addressing plastic pollution on a global scale and the need for further deliberations to achieve an effective, inclusive and workable treaty,” said Chris Jahn, council secretary of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), representing plastic makers.

Microplastics everywhere, with no curtailment in sight

“There is little assurance that the next INC will succeed where INC-5 did not,” environmental group GAIA said.

Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in the air, fresh produce and even human breast milk.

More than 3,200 chemicals of concern have been found in plastics, according to a 2023 U.N. Environment Program report, which said women and children were particularly susceptible to their toxicity.

Despite the postponement, several negotiators expressed urgency to get back into talks.

“Every day of delay is a day against humanity. Postponing negotiations does not postpone the crisis,” Panama’s delegation head, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, said Sunday. “When we reconvene, the stakes will be higher.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UN plastics conference fails to yield treaty to cut production