Global Plastic Pollution Treaty Negotiations End in Disaster

Negotiations to finalize a global plastics treaty have come to an end, with countries failing to agree on a solution to the massive problem once again.

Around two weeks ago, talks began in Geneva, Switzerland, to address the world's growing plastic problem. This was their sixth meeting as a group, and it marks the second time that they came in with a goal and failed to finalize a deal– last year's talks in Busan, South Korea, also ended without a concrete solution to the problem.

Plastics are everywhere, and the problem is spreading. While plastic does break down, it never actually degrades completely, leaving what is known as microplastics in the environment. Researchers have found that there are over 4,800 mcg of plastic per gram of tissue in the brain, which means the brain holds the equivalent to about an entire plastic spoon. The ocean faces an even greater issue, with scientists estimating that there are around 8.3 million pieces of microplastics per cubic meter of water– and there are a lot of cubic meters in the ocean.

Microplastics come from just about everything: actual plastic products, synthetic clothing, tea bags, confetti, glitter, coffee cups, cosmetic products, several types of salts, wet wipes, and much, much more. They have already spread into just about every ecosystem on Earth, and everything from biodiversity to pollution levels are taking a hit. However, the curbing of plastic production has faced serious pushback due to one specific condition– plastic is made from oil.

Oil companies have been some of the largest hindrances in the global fight against climate change, promoting fossil fuels while taking action to limit the production of renewable energy and other sustainable solutions. Similarly, oil-producing nations have been the first to shut down any sort of deal involving the curbing of plastic pollution, as proposed during treaty negotiations this week.

Additionally, environmental groups and other nations have raised serious concern over the fact that hundreds of lobbyists from the fossil fuel, plastics, and petrochemical industries also attended the talks in Geneva, according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). Several of the lobbyists also came from oil-producing nations like Egypt, Iran, and China.

Now, many nations have been left disappointed after talks stalled over the issue, and the negotiations have been described as an "abject failure." Countries came in with a goal to finalize a legally-binding treaty to limit the spread of plastic into the environment, and came out with almost the opposite.

Around 100 countries were willing to make major changes, but oil-dependent countries rejected the idea of cutting plastic pollution, shifting the primary focus of the discussion to managing existing waste instead of stopping waste production in the first place. Some oil-producing nations have confirmed that they would like to leave with a treaty preventing the production of some plastics or chemicals used in plastic production, but they have not taken the same widespread approach as environmentally-focused nations like Norway have.

The new agreement that was finalized was not legally-binding, and instead asked member nations to make a commitment to reducing the amount of plastic that enters the environment. The only item that countries agreed on was that nations who make the commitment should significantly redesign their plastic products to be less harmful and easier to recycle, but most countries that are willing to make the commitment have already taken steps to complete those actions.

Due to this, over 100 countries rejected the deal, calling it "unambitious," "inadequate," "abysmal," and a "gift to polluters," and environmental leaders across the world have denounced the stalled negotiations as a massive missed opportunity to do something great. Now, the world leaves Geneva without a plastics pollution treaty once again, and Earth remains on track towards a devastating plastic problem within the next few decades.

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Image credit to Plastics Industry Association