Current:Home > FinanceGlobal talks to cut plastic waste stall as industry and environmental groups clash -FundPrime
Global talks to cut plastic waste stall as industry and environmental groups clash
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:27:58
Negotiations over a global plastics treaty ended in Kenya with little progress toward reining in plastic waste, as environmental groups criticized oil and gas producers for blocking a final decision on how to advance the deliberations.
Members of the United Nations want to finalize a treaty by the end of 2024 to reduce the vast amount of plastic waste that piles up in landfills and the environment. Plastic production is expected to soar in the coming years, and almost every piece of it is made from chemicals derived from fossil fuels.
Representatives from around 150 countries met for talks last week in Nairobi. Most of them "worked to find commonalities among diverse global perspectives, but the entire process was continually delayed by a small number of Member states prioritizing plastic and profit before the planet," Erin Simon, head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement. The talks ended on Sunday.
Groups that want to see deep cuts in plastic waste worry plastic producers will weaken the treaty. The oil and gas industry is pushing recycling and waste management as solutions, rather than reducing how much new plastic gets made in the first place.
However, years of research and investigations, including by NPR, have shown recycling isn't working. There's also disagreement over whether the treaty should have binding global rules or be based on voluntary targets. Experts say dealing with the problem will require a mix of solutions, but that reducing production of new plastic is essential.
Most countries seem to support "strong, robust terms" for an agreement, Simon told NPR on Sunday. But there are "a handful of really lower ambition countries calling for a looser voluntary agreement."
The challenge is coming up with a plan that's effective in cutting plastic waste and that also gets buy-in from all the countries involved. Big oil and gas producers like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are at the negotiating table. The United States, which was the world's top oil and gas producer in 2022, has said plastic pollution needs to be dealt with "at every stage of the plastic lifecycle," from production to waste management.
Industry lobbyists also have a big presence at the talks. The Center for International Environmental Law said 143 lobbyists from the fossil fuel and chemical industries registered for the latest round of negotiations, an increase of 36% from the last round of talks that ended in June.
"The results this week are no accident," David Azoulay, program director for environmental health at the Center for International Environmental Law, said in a statement. "Progress on plastics will be impossible if Member States do not confront and address the fundamental reality of industry influence in this process."
Before this round of negotiations started, an industry advocacy group called American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said restricting fossil fuel production and plastic manufacturing are not good solutions. Instead, it said the goals of the treaty can be achieved "if waste is recyclable, properly managed and kept out of the environment."
An ExxonMobil spokesperson said in a statement in early November that the company is "launching real solutions to address plastic waste and improve recycling rates." The company has previously said the problem of plastic waste can be solved without cutting how much plastic society uses.
Graham Forbes, the head of Greenpeace International's treaty delegation, said in a statement that governments are allowing fossil fuel producers to shape the negotiations.
"It's clear the present process cannot overcome the coordinated opposition of those who block consensus and progress at every turn," Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law, said in a statement.
Without major change, Muffett said the next round of talks in Canada in April 2024 will be "a polite but massive failure."
veryGood! (21456)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Far fewer young Americans now want to study in China, something both countries are trying to fix
- Kansas governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors and 2 anti-abortion bills
- Small earthquake shakes Southern California desert during Coachella music festival
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- JoJo Siwa Addresses Claim She “Stole” Her New Song “Karma” From Miley Cyrus and Brit Smith
- Grammy-nominated artist Marcus King on his guitar being his salvation during his mental health journey: Music is all I really had
- Progressive candidates are increasingly sharing their own abortion stories after Roe’s demise
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Australian World War II bomber and crew's remains found amid saltwater crocodiles and low visibility in South Pacific
Ranking
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Chipotle to pay nearly $3 million to settle allegations of retaliation against workers
- Tennessee governor signs bill requiring local officers to aid US immigration authorities
- The Daily Money: 'Can you hear me?' Hang up.
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- 1 dead in small plane crash in northwest Indiana, police say
- Swimming portion of Olympic triathlon might be impacted by alarming levels of bacteria like E. coli in Seine river
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Step Out in Style for Sushi Date in L.A.
Recommendation
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
WNBA mock draft roundup: Predictions for Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and more
Megan Fox Breaks Silence on Love Is Blind Star Chelsea's Comparison to Her and Ensuing Drama
OJ Simpson's trial exposed America's racial divide. Three decades later, what's changed?
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Big E gives update on WWE status two years after neck injury: 'I may never be cleared'
Group seeking to recall Florida city’s mayor says it has enough signatures to advance
Some fear University of Michigan proposed policy on protests could quell free speech efforts