As the third negotiations (INC3) for a global plastics treaty closed earlier this week, civil society organizations from different countries expressed disappointment over the seeming failure to move closer to a strong and binding global plastic agreement to end plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution has reached a critical global scale. Annually, over 280 million tonnes of short-lived plastic products are discarded, as reported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). An estimated 19-23 million tonnes of this waste seeps into aquatic ecosystems, relentlessly polluting lakes, rivers, and seas.
According to environmental justice group BAN Toxics, instead of endorsing a mandate for the initial draft, Member States chose to revise the Zero Draft, expanding it and making progress more difficult. The draft emerged after the second round of talks in Paris earlier this year, intended to facilitate the negotiations in formulating an international legal instrument. It was a balanced document with a range of views presented as options before the start of INC3.
“Petrochemical and plastics industry-leaning governments successfully undermined the talks by raising procedural objections, stalling the negotiations, and introducing low-ambition language to dilute the push for a globally binding agreement,” said Jam Lorenzo, research and policy officer of BAN Toxics currently in Nairobi.
Lorenzo joined other civil society organizations, many coming from global networks such as the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), and the Break Free from Plastics (BFFP) movement.
Civil society strongly criticized the open-door policy accorded to the industry during the talks. As per the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) report, 143 lobbyists from the fossil fuel and chemical industries registered to attend INC-3. T
his group surpassed any national delegation or civil society organization in size and acquired significant access to government representatives worldwide.
“Member States in the room have the moral obligation to prioritize planetary boundaries, human rights and just transition for fenceline communities and waste pickers. A handful of countries must not hold the planet hostage and prevent an ambitious treaty addressing the full life cycle of plastics, which starts at raw material extraction,” said Merrisa Naidoo, Plastics Campaigner at GAIA Africa.
All plastics are made of chemicals. More than 13,000 chemicals have been identified as associated with plastics and plastic production across a wide range of applications, based on UNEP studies. Some of these chemicals are toxic that harm human health and the environment.
Plastics production also significantly fuels the climate crisis. It is among the most energy-intensive manufacturing processes globally, deriving from fossil fuels like crude oil.
In 2019 alone, plastics accounted for 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 3.4% to the global total.
Member States failed to reach a consensus on intersessional work, resulting in the closure of INC-3 without a structured plan to address crucial elements of the treaty, according to the group.
These include the gradual elimination of hazardous chemicals, plastic polymers, and microplastics, as well as the expansion of reuse initiatives before the upcoming negotiations at INC-4. This setback will impede progress in advancing the treaty process during INC-4, the group said.
BAN Toxics is collaborating closely with various civil society organizations in the region and globally, gearing up for the INC-4 in Canada next April, aiming for a plastics treaty that advocates human rights and environmental justice. (PR)