Editorial: Plastic Treaty remains elusive
Aligning the vision of high-ambition bloc with the development needs of primary producer nations is the way forward to ending plastic pollution
The collapse of talks at Geneva for a global treaty on plastics was a missed opportunity for the world to tackle the ever-growing crisis. Plastics are choking our planet, but unfortunately, there is no global consensus on how to end plastic pollution. The failure to finalise an agreement during the talks, participated by representatives from 184 countries including India, highlighted the differences between the two major global blocks; one group calling for legally binding caps on plastic production and action to ban toxic chemicals in plastics while the other group of oil and gas producing countries wanting the focus to be more on recycling, reuse, waste management, and voluntary commitments than production caps or a phase-out of chemicals. India reaffirmed its call for consensus in decision-making and urged that the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) focus on downstream plastic pollution and reject a global phase-out list. Clashing visions to fight plastic pollution made the negotiations difficult right from the start. By missing yet another deadline to confront the escalating plastic pollution crisis, the countries are putting the health of people at risk. Given plastic’s alarming impact on the environment, the need for aligning the vision of the high-ambition bloc with the sovereign rights and development needs of the primary producer nations cannot be overemphasised. Similarly, adoption of the ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ principle would make sense to bring the developing nations on board. Currently, the world produces more than 430 million tonnes of plastic annually.
Of this, 280 million tonnes become waste. Only 9 per cent of this waste is recycled, and the rest ends up incinerated, in landfill, or choking the world’s rivers and oceans, killing marine life. It is feared that by 2050, there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish. The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) passed a resolution in 2022 to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The UNEA established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) and tasked it with developing this instrument, which would address the full “lifecycle” of plastic production, product design and use, and disposal. Unfortunately, India has the dubious distinction of being the world’s biggest plastic polluter, accounting for around 20 per cent of the global plastic emissions. New Delhi has insisted that there should not be any global listing of products or chemicals with phase-out timelines at this stage. It is a tightrope walk to strike a balance between industrial growth and environmental protection. India, along with other like-minded nations like China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, may have succeeded in preventing an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, but this does not reduce their responsibility towards their people and the environment. A crackdown on polluting industries can send a strong message. India should also assess the efficacy of its ban on identified single-use plastics and the shortcomings in enforcement.
