Big polluter lobbyists and petro states sabotaged the global plastics treaty

Petro states and corporations have “held to ranson” the final stage of negotiations to create a global plastics treaty. The process has now ended in a utter failure – with countries unable to agree a treaty.

Now, discussions must go back to the drawing board – and it’s all thanks to the big polluter lobbyists that infiltrated the negotiations in record number.

Global plastics treaty negotiations: a total failure

Countries’ representatives have been meeting for the past fortnight in the UN headquarters in Geneva to finalise a treaty. The international agreement aimed to reduce plastic pollution to stop the harm it is doing to people’s health and the planet.

Over 100 countries, including the UK, agreed that to be meaningful, the treaty must include measures to reduce the amount of plastic companies are producing. They also determined that it must ban the most toxic chemicals in plastic products and create financial mechanisms to support countries dealing with huge volumes of plastic waste.

However, over the course of the three-year process, petro states, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, have failed to compromise on these issues. Instead, they chose to undermine and delay the international process. Corporate plastic lobbyists, who have infiltrated the talks in record numbers, backed them in this.

The meeting in Geneva has ended without resolution on the treaty text. Given this, the UN has extended the process in the hopes an agreement can be reached at a future date.

Petro-states in bed with the plastic lobbyists sabotage the treaty

Senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland Kim Pratt said:

This landmark treaty has been held to ransom by a handful of petro-states and corporations, set on making a profit whilst the rest of us suffer more and more from the explosion in plastic production. By sabotaging hopes of an agreement on a Global Plastics Treaty, their greed and lies have stopped the possibility of real progress.

A new approach is needed to create a better future for us and the next generation. Despite the collapse in the international agreement, Scotland can show leadership by taking the plastics crisis seriously and acting with urgency.

That means enforcing laws banning certain types of single use plastics and bringing in policies which force plastic producers to pay for the clean-up of the products they sell.

Without a plastics treaty, the world’s plastic crisis will continue to worsen. Production levels are expected to triple by 2060. Plastics, of which companies make 99% of from fossil fuels, contribute to climate breakdown and choke environmental systems.

There is increasing evidence that plastics also harm people’s health through exposure to toxic chemicals and microplastics. Scientists have linked these to an array of diseases, from cancer and neurological conditions, to hormonal and digestive problems.

In Scotland, civil society groups wrote to the First Minister to call for him to support the treaty. Alongside this, local plastic-free groups took action to send a message to representatives that they should support a strong agreement.

Featured image via the Canary