More than a dozen countries took part in informal talks aimed at unblocking negotiations to stem a global wave of plastic pollution, which scientists warn could have major public health consequences if left unchecked.
Nations and blocs that joined the meeting convened by Norway in Oslo on Monday and Tuesday included China, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Japan and the European Union. India, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were invited but did not attend.
A new round of formal United Nations-backed negotiations for a global plastic treaty will be held in Geneva in August. Previous attempts in South Korea last year were obstructed by a small group of oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, who objected to limits on production and consumption. Success in delivering a pact may hinge on a small group of countries — including India, South Africa, Brazil and particularly China, which has a large petrochemical sector but is increasingly concerned about plastic’s health impacts.
“What we are working now is to find that landing zone and the compromise that can bring an agreement” at the Geneva talks, Norwegian Climate Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said in an interview. “A lot of countries now really want to step up and demonstrate that the multilateral system is actually working.”
The process of finding global consensus on solutions to climate and environmental challenges has faced scrutiny after a series of disappointing outcomes at UN-brokered summits, and failures last year to strike agreements to halt plastic pollution, protect biodiversity and end desertification.
Yet a deal reached at the UN Biodiversity Conference last month in Rome, where more than 140 countries agreed to raise hundreds of billions of dollars a year to halt nature loss, is injecting new hope for a plastics pact. Norway was following some of the same strategies diplomats used to seal the Rome agreement by initiating informal talks ahead of scheduled negotiations, Eriksen said.
A global plastic treaty would seek to curb how much of the material contaminates the world’s soil and waterways. Plastic waste is not biodegradable, breaking down instead into microplastics, which can then enter the food stream. Recent research has shown the material is toxic as it accumulates in human bodies.
Plastic production is forecast to jump about 60% to 736 million tonnes a year by 2040, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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