UN plastics treaty talks fail after oil producers block production limits

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Negotiations over the first legally binding UN treaty on plastic pollution collapsed in the final stage of discussions, after oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia blocked efforts by 100 countries to place limits on new production.

The fifth round of talks, which took place in Busan, South Korea this week, will be extended to an undecided future date, after negotiations broke down as nations disagreed over how to tackle the world’s plastic waste crisis.

The impasse reflects geopolitical strains in the multilateral UN process. It is the third UN forum to reach a roadblock in the past month.

The UN biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, was suspended after running into overtime, and the UN climate summit in Baku delayed until next year issues related to the shift away from fossil fuels.

“We must acknowledge that we have not yet reached the summit of our efforts. While the peak is now within sight, our journey will only conclude when we have successfully achieved our objectives,” said Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the Ecuadorean chair of the UN plastic treaty negotiations in the final plenary.

Many major global consumer groups such as Walmart, Unilever and Nestlé, were among more than 200 companies in favour of efforts to end the use of single-use plastics and harmful chemicals, rather than face clean up costs.

The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty said an ambitious outcome had seemed closer. “It’s frustrating to watch the slow pace of multilateralism, which can be dictated by this very unprogressive minority,” said John Duncan, co-lead of the coalition.

Likened to a Paris agreement for plastics, in reference to the global climate accord reached in 2015, the treaty was to contend with the pollution crisis from the consumption of 60kg per person of plastics annually.

Global demand for the material is expected to nearly double by mid-century, with oil producers expanding production of the petrochemicals used in its manufacture.

The International Energy Agency predicts that oil-based feedstock for plastic will be the primary driver of oil demand growth in the latter half of this decade, as the move to renewable sources of power and electrified transport curb oil consumption.

The UN treaty negotiations broke down over whether countries should agree to limits on plastic production. A total of 100 countries supported a treaty that would put limits on new plastic production.

An obligation to phase out certain chemicals and products damaging to human health and the environment was also supported by 140 countries.

But a minority of oil producing states, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, strongly opposed any targets for curbing plastic production.

The lead negotiator from Iran, on behalf of the so-called like-minded countries which includes Saudi Arabia, said “various contentious elements need further time and discussions”. The sections on plastic production required “surgical attention . . . in their totality,” the statement added.

One European negotiator said that if it had not been for the oil-producing nations blocking progress, the talks in Busan would have resulted in an agreement.

“If it wasn’t for Saudi and Russia we would have reached an agreement here,” he said. “Quite a bit of progress has been achieved.”

“If this wasn’t the last planned meeting, this would have been seen as a great success,” the negotiator added.

The International Council of Chemical Associations, which represents petrochemical producers, lobbied against the inclusion of targets for plastic production in the final treaty.

“It is crucial that this treaty stays focused on addressing the primary cause of plastic pollution — mismanaged waste,” said Chris Jahn, secretary of the council. Reuse, recycling, and the collection of plastic waste were a “better way to end pollution,” he argued.

The previous round of talks in Ottawa, Canada, resulted in a unwieldy draft with widely diverging views. Delegates and observers said the present draft was more focused and there was broader support for the provisions to target plastic supply.

Environmental campaign groups accused the chair of having pandered to the oil-producing nations out of desperation to reach an agreement on time.

An alliance of 1,000 environmental non-profit groups known as Gaia said that although the draft text kept a reduction of plastic production on the table, it was “littered with concessions” to the oil producers, for example by referring to a reduction target as “aspirational” and removing controls on toxic chemicals.

“Without decisive action, there is a strong probability that the same petrostate minority will continue their obstructionist tactics and further imperil the plastics treaty process,” it said.