UN talks on plastic treaty end without agreement

Negotiations at the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) in Busan ended with delegations failing to reach a deal and agreeing to resume talks next year.

The INC-5, which started based on a resolution passed during the UN Environment Assembly meeting in March 2022, started Monday in Busan, with hopes of reaching an agreement to end plastic pollution.

The meeting concluded late Sunday without a deal, despite making “significant progress” toward the goal, according to the INC Chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso.

“While it is encouraging that portions of the text have been agreed upon, we must also recognize that a few critical issues still prevent us from reaching a comprehensive agreement,” continued Valdivieso during Sunday’s plenary session.

Valdivieso concluded the plenary session, emphasizing that “additional time is needed” to effectively resolve the issues at hand. The Chair's Text submitted by Valdivieso on Sunday announced the basis of discussions for when the INC reconvenes next year.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also addressed the session, saying that member states should take pride in building a foundation for “further convergence” when resuming negotiations.

“It is essential that we do not give up the shared goal of creating a legally binding instrument to tackle plastic pollution. We must build on what we have negotiated so far,” continued Cho. “We cannot afford to step backward. The progress we have made is real, and is the product of hard work, engagement and a collective commitment to finding solutions.”

During the INC-5, disagreements among countries were reportedly sharp on points such as regulations against the production of plastics or plastic polymers -- a key raw material sourced from fossil fuels to produce plastic products -- as well as measures to regulate hazardous chemicals that go into making plastics and funding mechanisms. These disagreements, raised as pending concerns from the first day of INC-5, eventually could not be resolved. The weeklong talks thus ended without an agreement, as an agreement can only be made through full consensus among all participating countries.

However, according to observers, more moments of progress were witnessed during the INC-5 compared to previous INCs, especially among countries who want a “progressive treaty.”

“During this year’s INC, we were still in a very shaky ground and were still on a tightrope,” Arpita Bhagat, the plastic policy officer for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives' Asia Pacific branch, told The Korea Herald. GAIA was one of the many environmental observer organizations which were a part of the INC-5.

“But what was different and could be noted as a positive outcome was that progressive countries came together strongly and were seen fighting a battle like never before because they were fed up with the delays in the process,” Bhagat added.

Though "progressive countries," defined as a group of countries that hold an ambitious stance on mandatory plastic production cuts, have been more vocal in terms of the urgency that surrounds the issue of plastic pollution, Bhagat also pointed out that differing political dynamics and economic viewpoints drove differences in achieving consensus at the INC-5.

With talks to develop a binding agreement against plastic pollution pushed back to next year, observer organizations like GAIA have stated that it welcomes the “member states’ willingness to fight for a better deal instead of rushing into a weak treaty.”

However, to achieve a more successful outcome during next year’s talks, Bhagat pointed toward a need to directly mention the rights of Indigenous people, women and children, as well as health concerns that surround plastics, chemicals and microplastics in the final draft of the agreement to come up with the more “ambitious treaty” that the world needs.

Plastics are produced at a staggering rate of over 460 million metric tons annually, with more than half of such numbers being single-use products, according to the UN Environment Program. Since the 1950s, the cumulative production of plastics has been derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals, and only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled.