COUNTRIES negotiating a treaty to address plastic pollution ended their weeklong meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Monday without an agreement.
The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee brought together more than 170 countries including the European Union to address plastic pollution with a legally binding treaty, but some oil producing countries opposed plastic output curbs, arguing that the focus should be on management of plastic waste.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the UN committee’s chair, said while the countries had made progress in Busan, their work was far from complete. The committee said the meeting will resume at a later date.
In March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the development by the end of 2024 of an instrument to control plastic pollution.
Up to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste is estimated to enter lakes, rivers and seas each year, according to the UN Environment Programme.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says global plastic production and use in 2040 are expected to rise 70 per cent from 2020 levels to 736 million tonnes in the absence of strong policies to control them, with only six per cent coming from recycled sources.
Plastic waste can alter habitats and natural processes. Microplastics resulting from plastics breaking down in the environment can also be harmful to marine life.
Kyodo
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