Dozens of nations oppose "unacceptable" draft plastic treaty text
The European Union, along with many other countries, has criticized the latest draft of an ongoing treaty aimed at ending plastic pollution, arguing that the text is too weak and gives too many concessions to oil producers.
The new text is a dramatic departure from the previous version and doesn't include language on limiting plastic production. It would also would weaken previously floated proposals around banning certain plastic products and strips out measures on harmful chemicals, News.Az reports citing Politico.
Danish environment minister Magnus Heunicke — speaking on behalf of the EU at a plenary session during the talks Wednesday — said the proposed text is "not acceptable" and "does not meet the minimum that is needed to respond to the urgency of the challenges before us and the responsibility for a modern economy and public health we all bear."
There's just one day to go until U.N. countries are meant to agree on the world's first legally binding treaty to "end plastic pollution" as plastic waste continues flowing into the world’s oceans at a rate of around 10 million tons a year.
What was meant to be the final round of talks imploded back in December as countries sparred until the bitter end over reducing plastic production, how to finance the treaty's implementation and whether to ban certain plastic products and chemicals in those products. This round of make-up talks — which started last week and are taking place at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland — is meant to be a last chance to get the treaty over the line.
"While it is important that negotiations enter into a new stage, the text on the table is not acceptable for the EU," EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said in an emailed statement. "We will continue to work with all sides towards an impactful treaty."
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