4th U.N. Plastics Talks End Without Commitment to Curb Plastic Production or Coherent Draft Text

United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution Ends with Limited Progress

INC-4 Fails to Achieve International Agreement to Address Plastic Pollution

OTTAWA, Canada— The fourth session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, or INC-4, ended today without much-needed progress toward an international agreement to end plastic pollution and protect human health, the climate, and biodiversity.

While INC-4 did manage a commitment to convene experts to conduct intersessional work before the final scheduled negotiation session in November, it was marred by aggressive efforts by low-ambition countries to clog the text with plastic-promoting edits.

“Countries should be rallying around plastic production cuts at this critical stage, not continuing to wrangle over the treaty’s scope,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, an observer at INC-4. “Despite hearing people from polluted communities around the world give sensible proposals to curb the lifecycle harms of plastics, fossil fuel and petrochemical interests are still shamelessly blocking progress and focusing on utterly inadequate plastic waste management.”

Lack of Consensus on Key Provisions and Scope of the Treaty

Throughout INC-4, U.N. member states discussed treaty text options proposed at previous negotiations and attempted to streamline the draft toward a final agreement. To the frustration of environmental, public health, and frontline organizations observing the session, nations struggled to agree even on the treaty’s scope and key substantive provisions.

Highlighting the ongoing division over the core issue of plastic production cuts, fossil fuel- and petrochemical-friendly countries could not even agree that intersessional work should cover the issue of primary plastic production.

The Center and many other groups from the Break Free From Plastic movement attended INC-4 in person to pressure member states to negotiate strong and effective treaty language that cuts plastic production and addresses pollution along the full lifecycle of plastic, from extraction and refining of the oil and gas that provides its raw materials to its disposal and loss in the environment.

Conflicting Proposals and Lack of Leadership

Rwanda and Peru — both members of the “High Ambition Coalition” — released strong proposals for text on production reductions. In contrast, a coalition of fossil fuel–aligned countries, including Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia, continued to forcefully object to treaty measures to address plastic production. These member states, calling themselves the “Like-Minded Group,” suggested changes to the treaty text that gut it almost entirely.

“Rather than showing leadership, the United States has remained disappointedly in the middle,” said Teel Simmonds. “The U.S. proposals lack binding targets and focus on cutting demand for plastic rather than production itself. And they don’t go beyond existing U.S. policy, which has failed to curb plastic production or protect frontline communities and the environment from harm.”

The BFFP movement released a call for action expressing disappointment and demanding more from the U.S. delegation.

Indigenous Peoples’ Concerns and Industry Influence

Representatives of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus attending the negotiations again highlighted the lack of resources and support to ensure their strong participation. The harms that Indigenous Peoples face from plastic production were underscored by INC-4 participants from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, who are fighting to protect their health from an INEOS petrochemical facility recently shut down for leaking illegal levels of benzene.

Even more fossil fuel, chemical, and beverage industry representatives attended INC-4 than previous sessions, and several groups again called for policies to protect the negotiation process from conflicts of interest.

Continued Advocacy for a Strong Treaty

“Despite mounting proof of plastics’ enormous harm to people and the planet, the petrochemical industry and the countries that put them first are ramping up efforts to water down this treaty,” Teel Simmonds said. “We’ll keep fighting their deception and obstruction because the world desperately needs a treaty that protects us from plastic production and pollution. And we’ll keep pushing the United States to lead.”

The next negotiating session, INC-5, will take place in Busan, Korea, in November 2024.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 14: Life Below Water

   • Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including plastic debris and nutrient pollution.
   • Indicator: Progress towards reducing marine pollution from plastic debris and nutrient pollution.

2. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
   • Indicator: Progress towards the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
   • Indicator: Progress towards achieving environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste throughout their life cycle.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 14: Life Below Water, SDG 15: Life on Land, and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets under these SDGs that can be identified are:

1. Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including plastic debris and nutrient pollution.
2. Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
3. Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

The article mentions or implies indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

• Progress towards reducing marine pollution from plastic debris and nutrient pollution.
• Progress towards the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems.
• Progress towards achieving environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste throughout their life cycle.

The article discusses the lack of progress in international negotiations to end plastic pollution and protect human health, the climate, and biodiversity. It highlights the division among countries regarding the issue of plastic production cuts. The article also mentions specific proposals for text on production reductions by Rwanda and Peru, as well as objections to treaty measures by a coalition of fossil fuel-aligned countries. The article criticizes the United States for its lack of leadership and inadequate proposals. It also mentions the attendance of industry representatives and the need to protect the negotiation process from conflicts of interest. These details support the identification of the relevant SDGs, targets, and indicators.

Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.

Fuente: biologicaldiversity.org

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