Fourth round of the plastics agreement without significant results

The fourth and penultimate round for an international plastics agreement ended in Ottawa on Monday evening, with the aim of signing a legally binding treaty by the end of the year to massively curb the flood of plastic by 2040 and severely restrict the production of new plastic. Oil-producing countries and those with a strong plastics lobby prevented an agreement, above all China, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Some speak of a disappointing outcome, others of a minor success. Stemming the flood of plastic is one of the most important global issues of our time and an international set of rules is urgently needed.
The two alliances that already existed during the last rounds of negotiations (see article below) were again diametrically opposed this time. The High Ambition Coalition has now grown from 50 to over 100 countries and is calling for a strict set of rules and, above all, a massive reduction in primary plastic production. Its Bridge to Busan declaration is an ambitious plan to reduce plastic. The front between this alliance and the second alliance (called the Like Minded Group), which is vehemently opposed to a reduction in production, has hardened. Nevertheless, there has been some small progress. For example, the states agreed that work should continue in working groups until the last round of negotiations in Busan, South Korea (from November 25 to December 1). These are to deal with the very complex detailed issues and also continue to discuss one of the most important points of contention, financial measures.
Penultimate and decisive round of negotiations on global plastics agreement
Reactions to the results in Ottawa
OceanCare Executive Director Fabienne McLellan commented on the outcome of the 4th meeting of the International Negotiating Committee (INC-4) as follows:
"OceanCare welcomes the progress made in Ottawa on a number of important issues such as problematic plastic products, hazardous chemicals and a financing mechanism. There is a broad consensus that marine pollution, including from plastic fishing gear, must be tackled comprehensively. We are also pleased that many governments have shown a strong commitment to the environment in this round of negotiations and have proposed ambitious targets to protect ecosystems. An effective treaty is still possible, but time is running out and targets need to be set higher."
"However, we are very disappointed that primary plastic polymers - the most contentious issue in Ottawa - were not given a mandate to work between rounds of negotiations before the next formal meeting in Korea. The science is clear: if we want to stop plastic pollution, we must first tackle the unsustainable scale of plastic production. But too many compromises have been made in favor of a handful of countries that are committed to maintaining the status quo. In the final round of negotiations in November, it will be crucial that governments serious about tackling plastic pollution push for a treaty text that significantly limits the production of primary plastics," she continues.
Lisa Panhuber, Greenpeace expert on the circular economy and resource conservation, who observed the negotiations in Ottawa, comments on this:
The days of negotiations have shown that countries such as Saudi Arabia, China and the USA, together with the petrochemical industry, are doing everything they can to undermine an effective global agreement. But the EU has also agreed to very weak compromises, risking an agreement that will further exacerbate the plastics crisis. The failure of this process is inevitable when 196 lobbyists from the plastics and fossil fuel industries are registered, which is more than all the delegates from the EU member states combined.
Greenpeace is calling on Environment Minister Steffi Lemke to work with the other heads of state and government to achieve a binding global reduction in plastic production. To achieve this, the plastics agreement must reduce global plastic production by 75 percent by 2040. This also includes a binding global reduction pathway, reusable packaging quotas and bans on avoidable single-use plastic products. We only have seven months left to seize this unique opportunity for a strong global agreement that protects health, the environment, animals and the climate.
Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of Plastics Europe AISBL, the association of European plastics producers, comments on the end of the penultimate round of negotiations on the UN Plastics Convention as follows:
"We see that some progress has been made in the difficult negotiations in Ottawa, but the clock is ticking. ... Mobilizing the necessary financing for the measures and facilitating access to it is a particular challenge, especially for emerging economies. We are therefore pleased that extended producer responsibility is increasingly recognized as one of the tools to ensure the proper end-of-life management of products. We also welcome the fact that many proposals were made during the negotiations to better identify and avoid problematic uses of plastics. ... However, we are concerned about the lack of progress on the regulation needed to accelerate the transformation to a circular economy with plastics. The most effective way to accelerate this transformation is to treat plastic waste as a valuable resource."