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On Wednesday nearly 100 countries rejected a draft of an international treaty to end plastic pollution a day before its August 14 deadline, with some describing the text as “unambitious” and “inadequate.”
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, committee chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution, presented the draft treaty to all 184 UN member countries during a final round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Members intended for the treaty to become the world’s first legally binding text to end plastic pollution, particularly in marine environments.
Several countries expressed strong statements regarding the negotiations. Panama representatives, which rejected the draft, stated, “This is not about closing a treaty at any cost, it is about closing a wound that were leaving open in peoples lungs, in our rivers in our oceans. But the text presented here makes that wound fatal, and we will not accept it.”
Delegates of the European Union stated, “We must express our disappointment that, in its current form, the proposed text is not acceptable. It does not meet the minimum that is needed to respond to the urgency of the challenges before us.”
The draft also faced criticism due to the lack of production caps and regulations on chemical additives in plastic products. These issues have divided countries into two different camps based on their production profiles. The “like-minded group,” which includes oil- and plastic-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Morocco, have not agreed on protection limits for plastic, arguing that “plastics are fundamental materials for sustainable economic growth” and that the treaty should “promote environmentally safe and sound management of plastic wastes and reduce uncontrolled hazardous plastic pollution.”
Meanwhile, nearly all 100 countries agreed that toxic chemical reduction is an important issue and claimed to seek common ground on cleanup and recycling measures.
After three years of negotiating, debate has persisted over legal definitions, such as “plastic pollution” and policy implementation. In particular, members have jousted over whether to place a cap on plastic production or reenforce improved product design, recycling, or reuse.
According to UN reports, plastic production has risen to 400 million tonnes per year. World Wildlife Fund official Erin Simon has stated that “If we can’t turn this around, we risk leaving Geneva either empty-handed or with an empty treaty. It’s time for the majority to find their voice, choose a path, and leave a legacy of progress, not pollution.”
The talks are set to continue on August 14. However, given ongoing discussions, the draft will need to go under significant changes before any consensus can be reached.
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Luis Vayas Valdivieso, committee chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution, presented the draft treaty to all 184 UN member countries during a final round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Members intended for the treaty to become the world’s first legally binding text to end plastic pollution, particularly in marine environments.
Several countries expressed strong statements regarding the negotiations. Panama representatives, which rejected the draft, stated, “This is not about closing a treaty at any cost, it is about closing a wound that were leaving open in peoples lungs, in our rivers in our oceans. But the text presented here makes that wound fatal, and we will not accept it.”
Delegates of the European Union stated, “We must express our disappointment that, in its current form, the proposed text is not acceptable. It does not meet the minimum that is needed to respond to the urgency of the challenges before us.”
The draft also faced criticism due to the lack of production caps and regulations on chemical additives in plastic products. These issues have divided countries into two different camps based on their production profiles. The “like-minded group,” which includes oil- and plastic-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Morocco, have not agreed on protection limits for plastic, arguing that “plastics are fundamental materials for sustainable economic growth” and that the treaty should “promote environmentally safe and sound management of plastic wastes and reduce uncontrolled hazardous plastic pollution.”
Meanwhile, nearly all 100 countries agreed that toxic chemical reduction is an important issue and claimed to seek common ground on cleanup and recycling measures.
After three years of negotiating, debate has persisted over legal definitions, such as “plastic pollution” and policy implementation. In particular, members have jousted over whether to place a cap on plastic production or reenforce improved product design, recycling, or reuse.
According to UN reports, plastic production has risen to 400 million tonnes per year. World Wildlife Fund official Erin Simon has stated that “If we can’t turn this around, we risk leaving Geneva either empty-handed or with an empty treaty. It’s time for the majority to find their voice, choose a path, and leave a legacy of progress, not pollution.”
The talks are set to continue on August 14. However, given ongoing discussions, the draft will need to go under significant changes before any consensus can be reached.
The post UN majority rejects draft of treaty to end plastic pollution appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.