OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) 鈥� Nations made progress on a treaty to end plastic pollution, finishing the latest round of negotiations in Canada early Tuesday amid sharp disagreements about whether to put global limits on plastic production.
For the first time in the process, negotiators discussed the text of what is supposed to become a global treaty. Delegates and observers at the called it a welcome sign that talk shifted from ideas to treaty language at this fourth of five scheduled meetings.
Most contentious is the idea of limiting how much plastic is manufactured. That remains in the text over the strong objections of plastic-producing countries and companies and oil and gas exporters. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels and chemicals.
As ended, the committee agreed to keep working on the treaty before its final meeting later this year in South Korea.
The preparations for that session will focus on how to finance the implementation of the treaty, assess the chemicals of concern in plastic products and look at product design. Rwanda鈥檚 representative said negotiators ignored the elephant in the room by not addressing plastic production.
鈥淚n the end, this is not just about the text, it鈥檚 not just about the process," said Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, executive secretary of the committee. "It is quite simply about providing a better future for generations and for our loved ones.鈥�
Stewart Harris, an industry spokesperson with the International Council of Chemical Associations, said the members want a treaty that focuses on recycling plastic and reuse, sometimes referred to as 鈥渃ircularity.鈥�
They don't want a cap on plastic production, and think chemicals should not be regulated through this agreement. Harris said the association was pleased to see governments coming together and agreeing to complete additional work, especially on financing and plastic product design.
Dozens of scientists from the Scientists鈥� Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty came to the meeting to provide research on plastic pollution to negotiators, in part, they said, to dispel misinformation.
鈥淚 heard yesterday that there鈥檚 no data on microplastics, which is verifiably false: 21,000 publications on micro and nanoplastics have been published,鈥� said Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicology professor at Sweden's University of Gothenburg who co-leads the coalition. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like Whac-A-Mole.鈥�
She said scientists were being harassed and intimidated by lobbyists and she reported to the U.N. that a lobbyist yelled in her face at a meeting.
Despite their differences, the countries represented share a common vision to move forward in the treaty process, Ecuador's chief negotiator, Walter Schuldt, said.
鈥淏ecause at the end of the day, we鈥檙e talking about the survival of the future of life, not only of human life but all sorts of life on this planet,鈥� he said in an interview.
The treaty talks began in after Rwanda and Peru proposed the resolution that launched the process in March 2022. Progress was slow during and in as countries debated rules for the process.
When thousands of negotiators and observers arrived in Ottawa, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the committee chair from Ecuador, reminded them of their purpose to deliver a future free of plastic pollution. He asked them to be ambitious.
The delegates have been discussing not only the scope of the treaty, but chemicals of concern, problematic and avoidable plastics, product design, and financing and implementation.
Delegates also streamlined the unwieldy collection of options that emerged from the last meeting.
鈥淲e took a major step forward after two years of lots of discussion. Now we have text to negotiate,鈥� said Bj枚rn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network. 鈥淯nfortunately, much more political will is needed to address the out of control escalating plastic production.鈥�
Many traveled to Ottawa from communities affected by plastic manufacturing and pollution. Louisiana and Texas residents who live near petrochemical plants and refineries handed out postcards aimed at the U.S. State Department saying, 鈥淲ish you were here."
They traveled together as a group from the Break Free From Plastic movement, and asked negotiators to visit their states to experience the air and water pollution firsthand.
鈥淭his is still the best option we have to see change in our communities. They鈥檙e so captured by corporations. I can't go to the parish government,鈥� said Jo Banner, of the St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana. 鈥淚t feels this is the only chance and hope I have of helping my community repair from this, to heal.鈥�
Members of an Indigenous Peoples鈥� Caucus held a news conference Saturday to say microplastics are contaminating their food supply and the pollution threatens their communities and ways of life guaranteed to them in perpetuity. They felt their voices weren鈥檛 being heard.
鈥淲e have bigger stakes. These are our ancestral lands that are being polluted with plastic,鈥� Juressa Lee of New Zealand said after the event. 鈥淲e鈥檙e rightsholders, not stakeholders. We should have more space to speak and make decisions than the people causing the problem.鈥�
In the Bay of Plenty, a source of seafood on New Zealand's northern coast, the sediment and shellfish are full of tiny plastic particles. They regard nature's 鈥渞esources鈥� as treasures, Lee added.
鈥淚ndigenous ways can lead the way," Lee said. "What we're doing now clearly is not working.鈥�
Vi Waghiyi traveled from Alaska to represent Arctic Indigenous peoples. She's reminding decision-makers that this treaty must protect people from plastic pollution for generations to come.
She said, 鈥淲e come here to be the conscience, to ensure they make the right decision for all people.鈥�
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Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press
