Uncertainty looms over plastic pollution treaty as talks stall on production caps and waste focus

BUSAN, South Korea – Doubts rose on sealing a global treaty to curb plastic pollution on the last day of scheduled talks, as over 100 countries pushed to cap production while a handful of oil-producing countries wanted to focus on plastic waste.

The fifth and final U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to yield a legally binding global treaty was set to wrap up in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday, but a final plenary session had not been held as of 4:00 p.m. (0700 GMT).

This treaty could be the most significant deal relating to environmental protection as well as climate-warming emissions since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

However, countries remained deeply divided on the fundamental scope of the treaty. One option, proposed by Panama and supported by over 100 countries, would establish a global target for reducing plastic production, while another proposal did not include any production caps.

The fault line was evident in a revised document released on Sunday by the meeting’s chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso. While it could serve as the foundation for a treaty, the document remains unresolved on several contentious issues: capping plastic production, managing plastic products and harmful chemicals, and securing financing to help developing countries implement the treaty.

Some negotiators and environmental groups observing the talks expressed profound disappointment.

“If you’re calling for a high, ambitious treaty, it means that (it’s) calling for obligations and commitments on the part of all parties,” said Dr. Sam Adu-Kumi, Lead Negotiator for Ghana.

If there was no such ambitious treaty, “it means that we have to go and come back another time, not Busan but maybe somewhere else,” Dr. Adu-Kumi told Reuters.

With just hours remaining for scheduled talks and consensus seemingly out of reach, some negotiators and observers openly talked about what could happen next if negotiations collapsed or were extended to another session.

Even if a legally-binding treaty is not reached at Busan, “this is a multilateral process that can keep working towards that goal,” Mexico’s head of delegation, Camila Zepeda, told Reuters.

It is noteworthy that plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in air, fresh produce, and even human breast milk.

Chemicals of concern in plastics include more than 3,200 found according to a 2023 U.N. Environment Programme report, which said women and children were particularly susceptible to their toxicity.