A swarm of lobbyists for fossil fuel interests and petrostates succeeded at stalling a global plastics treaty at a United Nations meeting in Busan, South Korea that just wrapped up, according to environmental advocates who were in attendance.
Member countries had aimed for the talks to be the fifth and final round of negotiations for a landmark treaty that would limit plastics production, phase out the use of certain chemicals, and adopt enforcement mechanisms. But after late-night negotiations and talks held mostly behind closed doors, the meeting adjourned without an agreement. That means there is no “Chair’s Text” to serve as the starting point for the next meeting of treaty negotiators, which will happen next year, though plans are not set.
While a majority of the nearly 200 nations in attendance endorsed a strong agreement that would limit plastics production and ban certain chemicals, a small bloc of petrostates blocked a treaty, said the nonprofit Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in a statement at the meeting’s conclusion. Participants pointed to Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia as some of the oil states that undermined the talks on curbing plastic production.
