Even as India has decided to push for plastic recycling as “a means to spur a circular economy,” a United Nations panel which met in Paris on Monday to work on what is intended to be a landmark treaty to bring an end to global plastic pollution, but there is almost no agreement yet on what the outcome should be.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics is entrusted with the task to develop the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This is the second of five meetings due to take place to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024.
At the first meeting, held six months ago in Uruguay, some countries pressed for global mandates, some for national solutions and others for both.
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who has arrived in Paris, said India would be putting forth its experiences and lessons in tackling the plastic menace and push for recycling as “a means to spur a circular economy”.
Over 2,000 participants, including governments and observers, from nearly 200 countries have descended on the meeting hosted at the Paris-based UN cultural agency, UNESCO. According to a report “Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy”, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), plastic pollution could be reduced by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies.
Plastic pollution would take up 10-13 per cent of the global carbon budget, endangering the climate. “The way we produce, use and dispose of plastics is polluting ecosystems, creating risks for human health and destabilising the climate,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.
“This UNEP report lays out a roadmap to dramatically reduce these risks through adopting a circular approach that keeps plastics out of ecosystems, out of our bodies and in the economy. If we follow this roadmap, including in negotiations on the plastic pollution deal, we can deliver major economic, social and environmental wins.” However, keeping in view that not much time is left for negotiations, experts at the Paris meet say in this second session it’s critical that decisions are made about objectives and scope of the text - such as what kind of plastics it will focus on. But that is easier said than done.
According to the UNEP, under a business-as-usual scenario and in the absence of necessary interventions, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from some 9-14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23-37 million tons per year by 2040.
To slash plastic pollution by 80 per cent globally by 2040, the UNEP latest report suggests first eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastics to reduce the size of the problem. Subsequently, the report calls for three market shifts —reuse, recycle and reorient and diversify products. The “High ambition coalition” of countries, led by Norway and Rwanda wants limits on plastic production and restrictions on some of the chemicals used in plastics as it is necessary to protect human health and the environment while helping to restore biodiversity and curb climate change.
The coalition is committed to an international, legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by 2040. Alternatively, the treaty could have a more limited scope to address plastic waste and scale up recycling, as some of the plastic-producing and oil and gas exporters want. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Countries supporting this plan include the United States, Saudi Arabia and China. The US delegation in Uruguay said national plans would allow governments to prioritize the most important sources and types of plastic pollution.
Many plastics and chemical companies want this approach, too, with a plastic waste treaty that prioritises recycling.
The International Council of Chemical Associations, the World Plastics Council, the American Chemistry Council and other companies that make, use and recycle plastics say they want an agreement that eliminates plastic pollution while “retaining the societal benefits of plastics.” They’re calling themselves the “global partners for plastic circularity.” They say modern plastic materials are used around the world to create essential and often life-saving products, many of which are critical to a lower-carbon, more sustainable future.
The International Pollutants Elimination Network, or IPEN, wants a treaty that restricts chemicals used to make plastic that are harmful to human health and the environment, according to some news agencies.
“To focus on plastic waste in this treaty would be a failure because you have to look at plastic production to solve the crisis - including the extraction of fossil fuels and the toxic chemical additives,” said Dr. Tadesse Amera, the network’s co-chair.
