More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. Nearly half, or 46 per cent, ends up in landfills, while 17 per cent is incinerated and 22 per cent is mismanaged and becomes rubbish.
Plastic pollution has reached the most remote and inaccessible parts of our planet under constant and relentless assault from diverse sources. It has been found in Greenland’s ice cap, near the summit of Mount Everest and in the deepest depths of the western Pacific Ocean. Nature programmes have pressed the alarm bell over a human-made crisis that has become an environmental scourge posing a serious threat to human health. Yet global production of plastic is all set to cross one billion tons a year by 2060, after increasing by more than 200 times over the past 75 years. This is the sordid reality that has forced delegates from 184 countries to gather at the United Nations in Geneva to deliberate for 10 days, from 5 to 15 August, and negotiate a deal to combat plastic pollution. The chair of the meet, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, produced a draft text based on the few areas of convergence, in an attempt to find common ground. But it ended up infuriating virtually all the stakeholders. The battle against plastic has, unfortunately, turned into a war between the vested interests determined to protect their trade and those fighting to reduce the production of plastic instead of merely managing recycling of waste. The delegates became divided into two groups. One of these comprises ambitious countries that clamour for bold action, like curbing production and phasing out toxic ingredients. The other is called the so-called Like-Minded Group, with Gulf countries taking the lead, which insists on applying no brakes on the production of plastics and instead are ready to use technology for managing waste. The agenda of the meeting was to find a legally binding instrument on tackling plastic pollution, but the outcome has proved to be highly disappointing. Valdivieso’s draft text was doomed to be torn into pieces as waste paper since it did not limit plastic production or address chemicals used in plastic products, which were contentious issues at the talks. About 100 countries wanted to limit production and, at the same time, tackle cleanup and recycling.
Also Read
Many at the meet said it is essential to address toxic chemicals. But, oil-producing countries vehemently opposed, arguing that it would be enough for the time being to eliminate plastic waste. The larger bloc of countries seeking more ambitious actions shook their heads in disbelief at the outcome as they considered the absence of legally binding action meant the menace would continue unchecked. The watered-down, compromised text means humans and nature will continue to bear the brunt of pollution inflicted on them by oil-producing states. The UN meeting turned out to be a missed opportunity to limit fossil fuel-based manufacturing of plastic.
Also Read: Conscious Capitalism
During five rounds of negotiations over three years, a petrochemical bloc led by Russia and Saudi Arabia has stalled and obstructed attempts to agree to a reduction in production. In fact, a media investigation has revealed how the corporate lobby has penetrated such forums to scupper and sabotage negotiations to curb the menace. It is a pity that the Geneva meet ended without any consensus on a text of the instrument that could be binding on all nations to take steps to curb the plastic menace. The Committee only agreed to resume negotiations at a future date to be announced. Such an outcome was only expected after the return of Donald Trump to the White House for the second time. On the first day of assuming office in January, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, giving a fillip to producers of fossil fuel. Such Trumpian actions seem to have given great hope to the wrong kind of people and corporations that mean no good to no one.
