Geneva is hosting a new round of global negotiations on plastic pollution governance, aiming to reach a legally binding international agreement. The current volume of global plastic waste is staggering and continues to rise, posing multiple threats to human health, marine ecosystems, and the global economy. The latest warning from the United Nations Environment Programme indicates that without timely and effective international agreements, global plastic waste could triple by 2060, leading to immeasurable health and environmental damage.
The negotiations led by the United Nations Environment Programme stem from an important resolution reached by member states in 2022 to develop a legally binding international instrument within two years to end global crises, including ocean plastic pollution.
So far, five rounds of intergovernmental negotiations have been held in Uruguay, Paris, Nairobi, Ottawa, and Busan. The first phase of the fifth conference was held in Busan, South Korea at the end of last year. At the closing ceremony of the Busan Conference, the committee decided to adjourn and agreed to convene the second phase of the conference, which is scheduled to open in Geneva on Tuesday.
The scale of the plastic pollution crisis is shocking: from everyday straws, coffee cups, stirrers, to supermarket shopping bags and plastic microbeads containing cleaning products, these disposable plastic products end up in oceans and landfills, and they are just a tiny microcosm of the global plastic pollution problem.
It is worth noting that advocates of the agreement compare the development of the global plastic convention to the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. However, oil producing countries are putting pressure on the agreement - their crude oil and natural gas industries are the raw materials for plastic production.
The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Anderson, emphasized that recycling alone cannot solve the plastic pollution crisis. People must undergo systematic changes in order to truly achieve the transition to a circular economy.
The Controversy of Circular Economy
According to the working document guiding the Geneva meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, the agreement aims to cover the entire lifecycle of plastics from design, production to disposal, in order to promote plastic recycling and prevent its leakage into the environment.
This 22 page document contains 32 draft clauses, which will be reviewed one by one. This text aims to set the tone for future legally binding instruments and will serve as a starting point for negotiations.
Focus on the Geneva Conference
During the ten day conference from August 5th to 14th, delegations from 179 countries will gather at the United Nations Office at Geneva to carefully discuss the agreement text of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee with over 1900 participants from 618 observer organizations, including scientists, environmentalists, and industry representatives.
The core objective of the conference is to promote proven plastic reduction solutions, such as non plastic alternatives and other safer alternatives. Before the meeting, the authoritative medical journal The Lancet issued a warning stating that substances contained in plastic products can cause widespread diseases at every stage of the plastic lifecycle and every stage of human life.
The journal cites research from over twenty health experts, pointing out that infants and young children are particularly vulnerable. Plastic poses a serious, persistent, and unrecognized threat to human and global health, resulting in health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually.
The Geneva Conference negotiations will be chaired by Matur Philippe, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution.
She pointed out that in 2024 alone, global plastic consumption is expected to exceed 500 million tons, of which 399 million tons will become waste.
The latest forecast shows that the total amount of plastic leakage into the environment will increase by 50% by 2040. She emphasized that the cumulative economic losses caused by plastic pollution between 2016 and 2040 could reach up to $281 trillion.
