The world currently produces nearly half a billion tons of plastic each year. This is more than twice the amount it produced 20 years ago. Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the past 20 years. Plastic waste is everywhere. About eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the ocean each year.
Environmental groups have urged nations to adopt a legally binding treaty to address the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution. The United Nations climate conference in South Korea last month took up the issue of reaching agreement on such a treaty. At what was supposed to be the final round of talks on the topic, delegates could not bridge wide differences on what such a treaty should contain.
The main bone of contention was whether the treaty should include limits on plastic production itself. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, and other oil-producing countries opposed any curbs on plastic production. They also opposed the phase-out of harmful chemicals used in the production of plastic.
The Saudi delegation claimed that if the issue of plastic pollution is addressed, there should be no problem with producing plastics. They said the problem is pollution itself, not plastics. They proposed a focus on improving recycling and waste management.
Of course, preventing plastic pollution from occurring is an extremely challenging thing to do. Delegates from countries pushing for a wide-ranging treaty – led by Rwanda – were unwilling to accept a toothless theory lacking real constraints on the plastics industry.
As the conference ended, delegates said that they would reconvene in future months to try again to produce a treaty. No date or place has been announced.
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Nations Fail to Reach an Agreement on Plastic Pollution
Photo, posted February 4, 2023, courtesy of Ingrid Taylar via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
