After 11 days, the second round of negotiations for the fifth United Nations Global Plastics Pact (INC-5.2) concluded in Geneva, Switzerland, with a break on August 15th. Delegates remained awake for over 24 hours, and even after a one-day adjournment, they were unable to reach consensus on key issues such as reducing plastic production and banning or restricting the use of toxic chemicals. The closing session abruptly concluded in chaos, without any specific details for the next round of negotiations.
Ambition Alliance vs. Like-Minded Alliance
On the eve of the meeting, a study published in The Lancet pointed out that plastic production has increased more than 200 times since 1950. If there is no regulation, it will triple again by 2060, exceeding 1 billion tons per year. Among them, disposable plastic containers such as plastic bottles and takeout containers will grow the fastest.
In order to reduce plastic pollution and promote a global convention with legal effect, the United Nations launched negotiations on a global plastics convention at the end of 2022. After the negotiations originally scheduled for Busan last year (2024) broke down, the resumed meeting was held in Geneva in early August. This consultation meeting, with a total of 183 countries and more than 1,400 representatives participating, lasted nearly three years and six rounds of negotiations, but still ended in failure.
The main reason for the failure of the negotiations was a disagreement between the two camps on reducing plastic production and banning and restricting the use of chemical substances. The High Ambition Coalition, comprised of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Latin American, and African countries, called for a significant reduction in plastic production and a gradual phase-out of hazardous chemicals. The Like-Minded Group, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, and Iran, advocated a focus on waste processing and increasing recycling rates.
Political wrestling and conference procedure negotiations have reached a deadlock.
As expected by experts, the United States, a major plastics producer, stood on the same front as the like-minded alliance. Reuters pointed out that the United States quietly sent letters to many countries at the beginning of the meeting, urging them to reject clauses on reducing plastic production and regulating the addition of chemical substances, making the negotiations more difficult.
In addition, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) revealed that at least 234 "lobbyists" from the fossil fuel and chemical industries attempted to influence the direction of negotiations at this session, which is 2.4 times the number of scientists and indigenous delegations.
The key to the breakdown in the negotiations was the consensus-based decision-making process, which requires unanimous agreement from all nations to be enshrined in the treaty. Fijian representative Senimili Nakora pointed out, "The premise for pursuing consensus is to advance negotiations, not to stall them." Environmental groups are also concerned that consensus-based decision-making has been used by oil-producing countries as a weapon to derail the process.
One observer told Grist that the negotiations were like the movie Groundhog Day, as countries kept repeating the same old talking points.
Neither draft reached consensus
Conference President Luis Vayas Valdivieso presented two drafts at the meeting, but no country representative agreed to use one of the drafts as the basis for negotiations because the content did not cover the entire plastic life cycle and the clauses on health and product phase-out were also deleted, which caused strong backlash from more than 100 countries.
Panamanian negotiators angrily denounced this, "This is not ambition, but surrender"; Greenpeace described it as "a gift to the petrochemical industry and a betrayal of humanity."
To seek unanimous consensus, the closing session originally scheduled for August 14th was repeatedly postponed. Subsequently, delegations held overnight negotiations on a revised draft released in the early morning of August 15th, but negotiations remained stuck and the text was rejected. According to Grist, most countries expressed a preference for restarting negotiations using the text agreed upon in Busan last year (INC 5.1).
"It's just a recess, not an end"
After lengthy negotiations yielded no results, the sleepless delegations could hardly conceal their fatigue at the closing session. Just as the observers were about to speak, John Thompson, head of the US delegation, demanded that the meeting be ended immediately, citing the potential health risks of the delegates' lack of sleep.
Valdivieso immediately agreed and banged the gavel to adjourn the meeting, stating that the negotiations would be resumed "at a later date", but did not specify the specific time and place, declaring that the Geneva negotiations had officially broken down.
Delegates expressed disappointment at returning empty-handed once again. At the closing session, the Cuban delegate said, "We missed a historic opportunity, but we must move forward and take urgent action. After all, our planet and future generations need this convention." French Environment Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher slammed the treaty, saying, "A few countries, focused on short-term interests, sacrificed the health of their people and the sustainability of their economies by blocking this ambitious treaty to combat plastic pollution."
After the meeting, Valdivieso stressed to AFP that the negotiations were only adjourned, not ended, and they would "work hard to find a date and place to resume the negotiations."
Christina Dixon, head of oceans operations at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), called for a new negotiating model and a new chair to prevent the resumption of negotiations from being deadlocked again, and for representatives of various countries to be able to truly exercise their voting rights to break the structural deadlock of "the minority having veto power."
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stated at a press conference after the meeting that "important progress" had been made, with countries gradually clarifying their respective bottom lines and engaging in substantive dialogue. Regarding the next steps for the Global Plastics Pact, a report will be presented to member states at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) at the end of the year, and multi-party negotiations will continue. She emphasized that "this treaty will not stop here, just as plastic pollution will not stop."
Source: Environmental Information Center
Website: 全球塑膠公約第六輪談判「慘敗」 兩大陣營分歧、關鍵條文難產 | 環境資訊中心
Disclaimer:
1.The articles compiled and published by this association on the Taiwan Net Zero Emissions Association's official website and in the Member Biweekly Report are for the purpose of introducing international environmental trends and for educational use only, not for profit.
2.Any legal responsibilities or losses resulting from the use or adaptation of articles translated by the association shall be borne solely by the user or adapter.
For more insights on net-zero emissions, feel free to subscribe to our biweekly newsletter:
https://www.tnzea.org.tw/eforms.php?lang=tw&tb=1
