Global plastic negotiations when countries remain deeply divided

Global negotiations on the development of a landmark contract for the termination of plastic contamination could not again.

Negotiations at the UN, the sixth round of the negotiations just under three years, were to end on Thursday, but the countries continued to negotiate the night in the hope of overcoming the deadlock.

There is a split between a group from about 100 countries that call for vigor for plastic production, and oil conditions that push the focus on disposal.

Speaking in the first hours, the Cuban delegates stated that the countries “missed a historical opportunity, but we should continue to go.”

Negotiations were convened in 2022 in response to the mounting of scientific evidence of the risk of pollution for human health and the environment.

Despite the benefits of plastic for virtually every sector, scientists are particularly concerned about the potential toxic chemicals they contain, which can be washed when plastic is torn into smaller pieces.

Microplasty was found in soils, rivers, air and even organs throughout the human body.

At the end of December last year, the countries had an original term to make a transaction along the line but did not reach it.

The collapse of the last talk means they are lagging on.

Speaking on behalf of the island states, on Friday, the North Pacific nation Palau said: “We are repeatedly returned home with insufficient progress to show our peoples.”

“It is unfair to face one global environmental crisis, which we make minimal,” he added.

The main section of the division between the countries remained the same throughout the contract to resolve plastic in the source – reducing production – or focus on the control of the pollution that comes from it.

The largest oil peoples are considering plastic, which are produced using fossil fuels as a vital part of their future economies, in particular, when the world begins to move away from gasoline and diesel towards electric vehicles.

The group, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, claims that the best waste collection and disposal infrastructure is the best way to solve the problem – an opinion that is shared by many producers themselves.

“Plastic is important for modern life – they go throughout,” said Ross Eisenberg, the president of plastic manufacturers of America, the trade association of the plastic production industry in the US.

“Focusing on stopping plastic pollution should be a priority here without stopping the production of plastic,” he added, warning that attempts to replace plastic by other materials could lead to “unintentional consequences”.

But many researchers warn that this approach is fundamentally unsuccessful. World disposal rates are estimated only by approximately 10%, and restrictions on how it can increase.

“Even if we can increase this over the next few decades to 15, 20, 30%, it will remain a significant amount that pollutes the environment and damages human health,” said D -R -Costas Velis, associate professor at the London Imperial College.

“That’s why we need to improve the processing … But we cannot hope that this will solve all aspects of plastic,” he added.

Plastic production has already grown from two million tons in 1950 to approximately 475 million in 2022 – and is expected to rise without additional measures.

About 100 countries that include UK and EU bloc are pushing for production and a more consistent design worldwide to facilitate processing.

It can be just as simple as plastic bottles are one color – when dyes are used, the products receive only half the cost of transparent bottles.

This approach was supported by large plastic bags, including Nestle and Unilever, which are part of the business, headed by the Ellen Macartur Foundation.

The coalition also stated that countries should better level their schemes to add a small collection of plastic products that will help pay for the disposal efforts known as the responsibility of sellers.

The group is estimated This can double revenue for countries up to $ 576 billion (£ 425 billion) from now on 2040.

The negotiations had to end on Thursday, but the countries continued to negotiate the night in the hope of breaking the deadlock.

The chairman, Luis Voit from Ecuador, created a new text that seemed more to match the request of the UK group.

The text did not call for a cap for plastic production that the UK wanted.

But this included a link to nations that take their steps to solve other problems such as dangerous plastic chemicals and plastic design to facilitate their processing.

Speaking at the final meeting, the EU delegation said: “We see the result of this session as a good basis of future negotiations.”

However, the state of oil remained deeply dissatisfied. Saudi Arabia stated that he had discovered the negotiation process, while Kuwait said his views were “not displayed”.

But many environmental groups that respond to collapse against what they see as prioritizing profits from the state of oil over the planet’s health.

Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation for the global plastic talks, said: “The inability to reach the Geneva agreement should be a call to wake up to the world: stopping plastic pollution means to resist the interests of fossil fuel.

“The vast majority of governments want a strong agreement, but a handful of bad subjects was allowed to use the process to introduce such ambitions into the ground.”

The chairman announced that the negotiations would resume later.