The final round of UN talks for a future plastics treaty has ended in South Korea without agreement. The deadline for completion of the treaty has been extended, and a follow up negotiating session has been agreed.
Despite more than 100 countries supporting an ambitious treaty, agreement was unable to be reached due to a small number of states opposing progress. Particular areas of divergence include measures to reduce the amount of plastic produced, the elimination of the most harmful plastic products and chemicals of concern, and the establishment of a financing mechanism to support effective implementation of the treaty.
Mari Williams, Senior Policy Associate at Tearfund, said:
“Throughout the negotiations, we saw the petro-states driven by their fossil fuel interests, obstruct and seek to derail the process. Meanwhile people living in poverty across the world will continue to suffer the worst impacts of plastic pollution - on their lives, health and livelihoods. However, we also saw high ambition countries stand firm, and refuse to accept a weak treaty. This ambition - brought to the table by more than 100 countries this week - must now be strengthened and built upon going forward. We cannot let a small number of states stand in the way of the strong, ambitious and fair treaty the world needs. Such a treaty is still possible, and must be fought for.”
There was also no agreement reached on whether a ‘just transition’ for waste pickers and other vulnerable groups should be a mandatory or voluntary aspect of the treaty. Waste pickers are the backbone of recycling systems in many countries around the world, collecting 60 per cent of the plastic collected globally for recycling. Yet they often receive a very low income, work in dangerous conditions and don’t have a voice in policy-making processes that impact them.
Mari Williams said:
“A global plastics treaty has the potential to lead to justice for waste pickers. Yet waste pickers and other stakeholder groups were excluded from several days of the negotiations, following the Chair’s decision to conduct ‘informals’ - negotiations between member states where no observers are present. When negotiations resume, the voice of waste pickers must be central, and justice for waste pickers and other vulnerable groups must become a mandatory part of the treaty text.”
Tearfund calls on high ambition states to continue to work to deliver the ambitious treaty the world needs - one that has legally binding targets to reduce plastic production, a just transition for waste pickers and universal access to waste collection and recycling services.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Tearfund statistics on plastic pollution:
- Plastic pollution is putting more than 200 million of the world’s poorest people at risk of more severe and frequent flooding - a number equivalent to the combined populations of UK, France and Germany (2023 report by Tearfund and Resource Futures)
- Every minute, enough plastic waste to cover a football pitch is openly dumped or burnt in Sub Saharan Africa, according to analysis by Tearfund (analysis conducted by Tearfund in 2023 of most recent OECD figures).
- Between 400,000 and 1 million people die each year in developing countries because of diseases related to plastic and other mismanaged waste. That’s up to one person every 30 seconds (Tearfund’s 2019 report No time to waste)
For further information please contact: Maddie Gordon [email protected]. For out of hours media enquiries: 07929 339813 or [email protected].
Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. We tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters and challenging injustice. We believe an end to extreme poverty is possible. Tearfund is also a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org.
