BUSAN: Negotiators working towards an international pact to limit plastic pollution will debate fiercely on the final day of scheduled talks, as more than 100 countries support the pact to limit plastic production is confronting some oil-producing countries that want it to focus solely on waste.
The fifth and final meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) aimed at achieving a legally binding international treaty will conclude in Busan on Sunday. Sunday, but as of Sunday morning, the final plenary session had not yet been scheduled.
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The treaty hoped to emerge from these negotiations could be the most important agreement on environmental protection as well as climate-warming emissions since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
As of Sunday, the countries remained far apart on the basic scope of the pact, with one option proposed by Panama – and supported by more than 100 countries – creating a roadmap for the reduction target global plastic production and another option that does not allow maximum production limits. all.
Several negotiators said selected countries had not changed their demands as of Saturday night.
“We have over 100 countries that are really ambitious. On the other hand, we have a small group of countries… that are basically running slowly and not moving forward,” said Anthony Agotha, EU Special Envoy for Climate and Environment.
“We really need to address the entire lifecycle of plastic because we cannot recycle our way out of this crisis… We cannot run on one foot,” he said.
A handful of petrochemical producing countries such as Saudi Arabia have strongly opposed efforts to target plastic production and tried to use procedural tactics to delay the negotiations.
Saudi Arabia had no immediate comment.
According to data provider Eunomia, China, the United States, India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are the top five major polymer-producing countries by 2023.
With just hours left in the scheduled talks and a consensus seemingly out of reach, some negotiators and observers fear the talks could collapse or drag on into another session. another meeting.
“We are now at a crossroads,” Panamanian delegation chief Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said Saturday.
“Delaying this meeting to another would be a fatal wound not only to planetary health but also to human health… we must deliver an outcome that elevates the fight.”
Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050 and microplastics have been found in the air, fresh produce and even breast milk.
Environmental groups observing the negotiations have criticized a document published by Commission President Luis Vayas Valdivieso on Friday that could form the basis of a treaty, for issues such as not adequately addressing chemicals that cause concern or human health.
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Chemicals of concern in plastic include more than 3,200 substances found in the United Nations Environment Program’s 2023 report, which said women and children are especially vulnerable to poisoning.
“We are confident that the President, with such great ambition, can bring us to a successful conclusion on INC-5,” Agotha said.