Nice – Ministers from 95 countries – including France – on Tuesday backed calls for a global treaty to restrict plastic production, on the sidelines of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice.
Talks on the treaty held in Busan, South Korea, in late 2024 collapsed, with countries unable to agree on how to stop millions of tonnes of plastic waste from entering the environment each year.
Ahead of the next round of negotiations to be held in Geneva in August, ministers from 95 countries have now issued a symbolic call for a binding treaty that caps plastic production and phases out harmful chemicals.
"This declaration sends a clear and strong message: we will not give up," France's environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said. "We must reduce our production and consumption of plastics."
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which investigates and campaigns against environmental crime and abuse, was among 234 civil society and rightsholder groups to welcome the renewed commitment.
EIA Ocean Campaign lead Christina Dixon said: “EIA enthusiastically supports the governments sending this clear political signal... ahead of the critical last round of negotiations in August. With the future health of the planet, its oceans and inhabitants at stake, this is not just a wake-up call, it’s an emergency siren.”
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Caps on plastic production
So-called "high-ambition" nations have long pushed for the accord to include caps on the manufacture of new plastic, which is largely made from chemicals derived from fossil fuels.
An opposing group of countries – mostly oil and petrochemical giants – have rejected calls for production limits, and pushed instead for a treaty that prioritises waste management.
Mexico's environment minister Alicia Barcena said caps on plastic were critical "to send a message on the root of the plastic crisis" and recycling and waste management alone would not solve the problem.
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In 2019, the world produced around 460 million tonnes of plastic, a figure that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.
Just 9 percent of plastic is recycled globally, and every day the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks worth of plastic waste is dumped into oceans, rivers and lakes.
Greenpeace stressed the need for a cap on production, with its head of delegation to the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, Graham Forbes, saying: "Governments are finally saying the quiet part out loud: we cannot end plastic pollution without cutting plastic production. Full stop.
“We welcome the call for a legally binding global cap on plastic production, and real rules to phase out the most toxic plastic products and chemicals. For too long, treaty talks have been stuck in circular conversations, while plastic pollution chokes our oceans, poisons our bodies and fuels the climate crisis."
'Beyond vague promises'
"We are heartened to see this demonstration of ambition from the majority of countries, who are showing a united front against the small number of petro-chemical states trying to prevent a strong treaty," said Ana Rocha from GAIA, an alliance of activist groups.
The declaration also called for the elimination of "chemicals of concern" in plastics, which are harmful to human health and the environment. Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found atop Mount Everest, in the deepest ocean trench, and in human blood and breastmilk.
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Andres del Castillo, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, welcomed the declaration, but warned that more must be done to achieve a truly ambitious treaty.
“For the Global Plastics Treaty to succeed, member states must move beyond vague promises and define how they are going to deliver, including through clear, legally binding measures and a human rights-based approach," he said.
"Come August in Geneva, political statements will not be enough. We must see member states stand up to petrostate and fossil fuel interests on the floor of the negotiations. Their actions will speak louder than words."
(with AFP)
