Negotiations on a global UN treaty against plastic pollution are entering the fourth and probably penultimate round of negotiations in the Canadian capital Ottawa. Delegates from more than 170 countries are expected on Tuesday (from 7.15pm CEST) for the so-called INC-4 negotiations, which are expected to last until next Monday. The last talks six months ago ended in failure.
An agreement failed due to states wanting to continue to benefit from fossil business models such as plastic production in the future. The environmental organization WWF in Germany said the negotiations in Canada are all the more important.
Plastic pollution must be massively reduced by 2040
By the end of the year, the UN wants to draw up a treaty that will massively reduce plastic pollution by 2040. Whether that is realistic remains to be seen. The fifth and final round of negotiations will begin in November.
The vast majority of states support ambitious and legally binding rules, says Florian Titze, WWF expert on international politics. “This majority must prevail so that the agreement is not only in force by the end of the year.”
A lot of plastic ends up in the world’s oceans
According to the UN, 9.2 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s – that’s about the weight of 910,000 Eiffel Towers. The vast majority of plastic ends up as waste in landfills or in the environment. The vast majority of plastics are not biodegradable. The material often remains in huge eddies of waste in the world’s oceans.
Source: Krone
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