Name: Plastic pollution treaty talks kick off in Busan
Uploaded: 2024-11-30T21:23:19.719Z
Duration: 1 min 38 s
Description: Representatives from 175 countries are urgently negotiating a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution. The two-year process in Busan faces delays due to disagreements over a global production cap on plastics.

Representatives from 175 countries are urgently negotiating a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution. The two-year process in Busan faces delays due to disagreements over a global production cap on plastics.

Busan

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Representatives from 175 countries are currently engaged in discussions to negotiate a legally binding treaty aimed at reducing plastic pollution. The negotiations are taking place over a two-year period in Busan, with the final talks scheduled soon. However, progress has hit a snag due to disagreements over whether the treaty should include a global cap on plastic production.

Countries that produce oil and plastics, along with significant lobbying groups, are advocating for the treaty to address waste management instead of production limits. In contrast, environmental groups and many nations from the global South, which are adversely affected by plastic waste, argue that focusing solely on recycling and waste management is insufficient. These groups are concerned that without addressing the source of the problem, the international community risks endangering future generations for short-term economic benefits. They point to global recycling rates being below 10 percent and warn that unchecked plastic production could triple in the coming decades.

Countries like Panama and several civic groups around the world are urging high-ambition coalition partners, including EU states, Japan, and host nation South Korea, to promote the phase-out of non-essential single-use plastics. They believe this step is crucial in the final stages of the treaty negotiations.



Plastic pollution treaty talks kick off in Busan

A growing sense of urgency here as representatives from some 175 countries are locked in discussions toward what is hoped will be a legally binding treaty toward curbing plastic pollution and their far-reaching impact on the marine environment. Now the two-year-long process is set to culminate here in Busan on Sunday, but progress has been stalled by disagreement over whether or not to include a global production cap on plastics in the final document. Oil and plastic-producing countries, supported by a record-showing of lobbyists, have pressed the focus need be on waste management. But environmental groups and several global South countries overwhelmed by plastic trash contend that would be detrimental. If we come here and agree on a treaty that's focused on waste management, that reinforces this illusion that we can recycle our way out of this crisis, we will be sacrificing future generations for short-term profits for an industry that desperately needs to transform. Global recycling rates fall below 10 percent, and studies have shown that if kept unchecked, plastic production could triple within decades. That's why countries like Panama, supported by civic groups from around the world, are calling on its high-ambition coalition peers, including EU states, Japan and host South Korea, to step up and refocus the debate toward facilitating an eventual phasing out of non-vital single-use plastics in these final hours. Eunice Kim, Al Jazeera, Busan, South Korea.

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