Plastic Agreement Fails – Negotiators Walk Out
There will be no agreement on global production, recycling and waste management of plastics.
Negotiators are now leaving the meeting in Geneva empty-handed.
Negotiations at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, have been ongoing for eleven days, with the aim of concluding a historic agreement to stop plastic pollution worldwide.
But just like at the previous meeting in South Korea last year, the negotiators are leaving without reaching an agreement.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the negotiating committee, has presented two draft agreement texts. However, representatives from 184 countries have not agreed to use either of the proposals as a basis for negotiations.
Higher expectations
Swedish EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall says that the EU and its member states had higher expectations for the meeting. Although the draft did not meet their requirements, she believes it is a good basis for a new round of negotiations.
The Earth does not belong to us alone. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfil that duty, says Roswall.
There are two camps in the negotiations. One camp includes most countries, including those within the EU, which want an agreement that covers restrictions on the entire plastic cycle, from design, production and recycling to waste management, as well as a global phase-out of certain harmful plastic chemicals.
The other camp includes countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran, which want the agreement to focus solely on how plastic waste is handled after production and use.
Three years of failure
Several countries expressed bitter disappointment at the breakdown of negotiations, but say they are prepared for future negotiations. This is despite six rounds of negotiations over three years failing to reach an agreement.
‘We have missed a historic opportunity, but we must continue and act quickly. The planet, and current and future generations, need this agreement,’ said Cuba. Colombia added: ‘The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states that simply do not want an agreement.
Tuvalu, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, also said it had once again come away empty-handed. Without global cooperation and action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will ‘continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihoods and culture.’
Cover photo: Delegates at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday. Photo: Martial Trezzini/AP/TT
In 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated a discussion on how the world’s countries should agree on agreements on, among other things, the production, recycling and waste management of plastics.
What was to be the final UN meeting on the issue took place in South Korea in December 2024. It ended in deadlock.
This week’s meeting in Geneva is a continuation of the stalled meeting. It will conclude on Friday night.
The Global Plastic Pollution Treaty is proposed to regulate the entire life cycle of plastics and restrict the use of certain chemicals in their manufacture.
A number of countries have opposed the restrictions. Among them are several oil-producing countries.
Another stumbling block is that no agreement has been reached on how the agreement should be voted through – by majority or by consensus.
Forecasts indicate a global increase in plastic production of 300 per cent by 2060 if nothing is done.
Only 10 per cent of all plastic is recycled globally. It is estimated that 80 per cent of all plastic will remain as pollution in the world.
