UN’s fourth round discussion on plastics treaty

Plastics are everywhere, all the time. The list of dangerous chemicals and horrendous outcomes due to plastics cannot be overstated it seems to me. Yet, after 4 (FOUR!) formal discussion meetings on a plastics treaty, world leaders and their industry adovcates are no closer to a treaty. Grist summarized the conference well.

“Nothing happened that was particularly surprising, but this outcome is still quite demoralizing,” said Chris Dixon, an ocean campaign leader for the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency who attended the talks. Other groups called the outcome“disappointing” and said the negotiations had been “undermined by deep-rooted industry influence.”

Grist

What also seems like common sense, environmental activists are pushing for 360 degree / total lifecycle focus, and limits on production as well as clean up activities.

Dixon and other environmental advocates have spent the past three meetings fighting for a treaty that addresses the “full life cycle” of plastics — meaning one that goes beyond waste management to limit the amount of plastic that’s made in the first place. 

Grist

Of course, many countries are against production limits, including the US.

The United States has also resisted plastic production limits as part of the treaty. A State Department official told the Financial Times on Tuesday that “overly prescriptive approaches” could alienate “major producers or consumers of plastics.” Instead of cutting the supply of plastics, the U.S. wants to focus on reducing demand and improving infrastructure for recycling and reuse.

Grist

Leaves one asking, ‘Is this really the best humans can do?’ Plastics are a recognized problem with seemingly very feasible solutions without too much impact to global lifestyles – just a reshuffle of profit centers.

For insiders, they have more faith in the process than I.

With eight months remaining in 2024, delegates have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to wrap up a treaty by the end of the year, which is the goal countries agreed on when they decided to write a treaty in March 2022. Even if the treaty does not take its most ambitious form, it could still have a big impact. Policies to disincentivize the use of virgin plastic, for instance — like recycled content requirements — are relatively noncontroversial, and they could indirectly limit plastic production. Beeler said it’s also possible that new requirements on the measurement and disclosure of plastic production could eventually lead to production limits after the treaty is ratified. 

Simon, with WWF, said she feels cautiously hopeful following this week’s meeting. The conference was “not a failure, and definitely not a win.” she said. “But it is progress.”

Grist