Talks begin in South Korea to clinch ‘essential’ deal on plastics pollution

The meeting follows two years of intergovernmental negotiations to develop a legally binding global instrument that covers land and the marine environment – a blink of an eye in diplomatic circles, where multilateral deals can be decades in the making.

“Our world is drowning in plastic pollution. Every year, we produce 460 million tonnes of plastic, much of which is quickly thrown away,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres via video message, as he urged delegates to push for a deal.

“By 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Microplastics in our bloodstreams are creating health problems we’re only just beginning to understand.”

Cautious optimism

Expressing hope for a potentially historic deal, UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson insisted that it was “the moment of truth” to take action.

“Not a single person” on the planet wants plastic washing up on their shores or plastic particles circulating in their bodies, or their unborn babies, she maintained, adding that it was a sentiment shared by the G20 group of industrialized nations.

“Waste pickers, civil society groups are fully engaged; businesses are calling for global rules to guide this future; indigenous people are speaking out; scientists are calling out the science,” Ms. Anderson said.

“The finance sector is beginning to make the moves at the international level. There’s also been clear signals that a deal is essential, including the G20 declaration last week, which said that G20 leaders were determined to land this treaty by the end of the year.”

Broad support

More than 170 countries and over 600 observer organizations have registered for one week of talks in the large port city of Busan, where South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol urged delegates to agree on a path to zero plastic pollution, for the sake of future generations.

“The excessive reliance of humanity on the convenience of plastics has resulted in an exponential increase in plastic waste; the waste accumulated in our oceans and rivers now jeopardizes the lives of future generations,” he said, via video link.

“I sincerely hope that over the coming week all Member States will stand together in solidarity – with a sense of responsibility for future generations – to open a new historic chapter by finalizing a treaty on plastic pollution.”

Coming full circle

Officially, the talks are known as the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee discussions (INC-5) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The session follows four previous rounds which began exactly 1,000 days ago in Uruguay.

By contrast, “some plastics can take up to 1,000 years to decompose”, UNEP chief Ms. Anderson said, and even then, “they break into eversmaller particles that persist, pervade and pollute...Damaging ecosystem resilience, blocking drainage in cities and also very likely harming human health and growth in plastic pollution is emitting more greenhouse gases, pushing us further into climate disaster. That is why public and political pressure for action has risen into a crescendo.”

In his message to the Busan meeting, the UN Secretary-General underscored the need for a treaty that is “ambitious, credible and just”.

Any deal must address the life cycle of plastics – “tackling single-use and short-lived plastics, waste management and measures to phase out plastic and promote alternative materials”, Mr. Guterres insisted.

These should enable all countries to access technologies and improve land and marine environments, while also ensuring that the most vulnerable communities who rely on plastic collection are not left behind, such as waste pickers.