<p>The fifth United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting at Busan, South Korea, which aimed to arrive at a legally binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution, has gone the way of the COP29 climate change conference at Baku, and ended without an agreement. More than 200 countries attended the meeting which saw week-long negotiations but it ended in a deadlock over cuts to plastic production. </p><p>The dispute was between countries that wanted the production to be cut and fossil fuel states that opposed any reduction in production. More than 100 countries supported a draft text that called for legally binding global reductions in plastic production and phasing out of certain chemicals and single-use plastic products. But a group of oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia, refused to accept any production cuts. Saudi Arabia said that the “problem is the pollution, not the plastics themselves.”</p>.<p>The UN had passed a resolution in 2022 calling upon member countries to take steps to end plastic pollution. The problems of plastic pollution are well-known. Plastics are useful materials but they do substantial harm to the environment and endanger the health of all living things. Much of the plastics in use are indestructible and they pollute the land, the seas, and the air. It has been observed that microplastics go into internal organs of the body, human and animal, and even breast milk and the linings of arteries. The impact of plastics on health is only coming to light now. There is agreement among nations that their use needs to be curbed but there is no agreement on how it is to be done.</p>.<p>As one delegate remarked at the meeting, trying to end or curb the use of plastics without reducing their production is like trying to dry the floor with the tap on. Recycling is not always possible. There was no agreement at the meeting on any issue that was on the table such as capping plastic production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty. According to the present plans, plastic production is likely to triple by 2050 and so, the urgency of reaching an effective agreement which will eliminate or reduce plastic usage is evident. The countries have agreed to meet again next year to continue the negotiations – countries that opposed a binding agreement at Busan will have to soften their position for ensure progress in mitigation efforts. India was with them because it is a major polymer producing country. It needs to review its position considering the scale of the global threat plastics pose.</p>
<p>The fifth United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting at Busan, South Korea, which aimed to arrive at a legally binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution, has gone the way of the COP29 climate change conference at Baku, and ended without an agreement. More than 200 countries attended the meeting which saw week-long negotiations but it ended in a deadlock over cuts to plastic production. </p><p>The dispute was between countries that wanted the production to be cut and fossil fuel states that opposed any reduction in production. More than 100 countries supported a draft text that called for legally binding global reductions in plastic production and phasing out of certain chemicals and single-use plastic products. But a group of oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia, refused to accept any production cuts. Saudi Arabia said that the “problem is the pollution, not the plastics themselves.”</p>.<p>The UN had passed a resolution in 2022 calling upon member countries to take steps to end plastic pollution. The problems of plastic pollution are well-known. Plastics are useful materials but they do substantial harm to the environment and endanger the health of all living things. Much of the plastics in use are indestructible and they pollute the land, the seas, and the air. It has been observed that microplastics go into internal organs of the body, human and animal, and even breast milk and the linings of arteries. The impact of plastics on health is only coming to light now. There is agreement among nations that their use needs to be curbed but there is no agreement on how it is to be done.</p>.<p>As one delegate remarked at the meeting, trying to end or curb the use of plastics without reducing their production is like trying to dry the floor with the tap on. Recycling is not always possible. There was no agreement at the meeting on any issue that was on the table such as capping plastic production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty. According to the present plans, plastic production is likely to triple by 2050 and so, the urgency of reaching an effective agreement which will eliminate or reduce plastic usage is evident. The countries have agreed to meet again next year to continue the negotiations – countries that opposed a binding agreement at Busan will have to soften their position for ensure progress in mitigation efforts. India was with them because it is a major polymer producing country. It needs to review its position considering the scale of the global threat plastics pose.</p>
