The idea would be a global treatise on plastics, but 12 days of meetings did not arrive. Several deeply disappointed representatives.
There were 12 days of meetings at the headquarters of the United Nations (Him). The idea would be to sign a historical document in the protection of the planet, a Global Treaty on Plastics.
But these meetings ended Without agreement, In the early hours of Saturday, in Geneva.
O impasse Central was about whether the treaty should reduce the exponential growth of plastics production, and establish global and legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics.
The goal of last version The document was to reduce plastic products that had “one or more chemicals that constituted a concern for human health or the environment”, and reduce the plastic products of single or short life.
But the outcome of 2024 was repeated: the meetings in South Korea ended without a consensus.
Norway representatives, Australia, Tuvalu and other countries have said they leave Switzerland deeply disappointed.
And David Azoulay, head of the Center for International Environmental Law, shot in a statement that these negotiations were a “Abject failure”.
“In the last days of negotiations, we clearly saw what many of us have known for some time, that some countries have not come here to finish a text, came here to make the opposite: block Any attempt to move forward with a viable treaty, ”says the.
“It is impossible to find a common base among those interested in protecting the the status quo And most looking for a functional treaty that can be reinforced over time, ”added the official.
The European Union will continue to insist on a stronger and more binding agreement.
Negotiations for the treaty began in 2022, involving 175 countries, but the advances have been minimal.
Zero complains
The Zero Environmental Association regretted the failure of these negotiations on Saturday and responsible “ interests installed linked to fossils ” by the impasse.
“Zero cannot but mark its disappointment with the inability to find a wide understanding of the need to reduce the negative impacts of plastic pollution, even in the face of so many scientific evidence that point to the urgency of acting,” the organization said in a statement.
Despite recognizing that it was “Very unlikely” reach understanding In this round, the association stresses that “this failure should not be seen as the end of the way.” For zero, “now it’s time for the most ambitious countries, which have fought until the last minute for an effective treaty to reduce plastic pollution, gather strength and advance for themselves.”
The organization considers that It would not be acceptable to give approving a text without concrete measures and accuses the fossil industry to condition the process. “More important than being all, it is not stopping the process and not giving in to the approval of a text that, not bringing anything new, would serve as a smoke curtain to ensure that the fossil industry could stay in its business,” he warned.
According to zero, “ same arguments For over two years, without any convergence. ”
