ZAYNAB SADAN: Crunch time for a global treaty on plastics

Efforts to forge a global legally binding plastics treaty are coming to a head, with the last round of negotiations scheduled to take place in Busan, South Korea, at the end of November. But for this agreement to create the change that people and nature need, it must have substance. 

When countries came together in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2022 to agree on the need for a global binding treaty to regulate global plastic production and consumption, a striking piece of public art was created to underscore the message. It consisted of a giant tap spewing thousands of pieces of plastic and was the brainchild of an activist artist called Benjamin Von Wong.

The plastic waste used to create the #TurnOffthePlasticTap artwork had been sourced from a nearby informal settlement called Kibera — described as “the largest slum in Africa” — and built with the help of more than 100 of its residents.   

The message was clear — any efforts to end plastic pollution needed to include addressing the problem at source and not simply cast a lens on waste management and calling on people to recycle their way out of this crisis. A clear analogy would be that you can’t fix the problem of a faulty tap simply by mopping the floor. 

There were heady, emotional moments at that UN Environmental Assembly, where countries promised to negotiate a treaty to end plastic pollution once and for all. What followed was four sessions of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) — comprising the world’s governments — to drive this process forward. The fifth and final of these sessions — INC-5 — is set to take place in Busan in November. 

But more than two years on, it is evident that the negotiations have come in for some headwinds. There has been continued pushback from a small but loud group of fossil fuel-producing countries with a vested interest in business as usual and producing new “virgin” plastic, which is a by-product of the fossil fuel industry, and plans for continued growth in production, which has more than doubled from 2000 to 2019. 

The plastics industry too has been vocal in wishing to put more emphasis on waste management and keeping the emphasis on individual responsibility (the mopping-of-the-floor end of business) rather than turning off the tap on problematic plastics. And while a clear majority of states already support a treaty with binding obligations to deliver systemic changes, as do major businesses, civil society organisations, scientists and researchers in this field, bold actions are needed at INC-5 to secure the treaty people and nature desperately need to put our planet (and our relationship with it) on a path to recovery. 

From the outset, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and other NGOs have been united behind the idea that this treaty needs to have teeth if it is to effectively end plastic pollution and protect nature and human health from its harmful effects. It cannot simply be a matter of voluntary agreements or a focus on waste management which have dominated our collective response so far and has done little to curb pollution. This treaty is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a robust and effective global response to a worsening global crisis. 

What is set out below is the “must-haves” WWF believes are fundamental for an effective global treaty. 

Eliminate harmful plastics. As a starting point, the treaty must include binding, global bans and phase-outs of problematic and avoidable plastic products and chemicals of concern. At INC-5, countries must agree to global, science-based criteria and initial lists of the most harmful plastic products and chemicals that can be banned immediately and phased out more gradually.

Plastic products that are either designed to be used once and immediately thrown away (single-use products), many of which may be harmful to human health, and/or difficult to recycle, account for 60% of global plastic production and 70% of ocean pollution and must therefore be tackled with urgency. 

Redesign products and systems. The treaty must establish binding, global requirements on product design and performance to ensure reduction, reuse, and safe recycling for the plastics remaining on the market. Establishing these criteria must go hand in hand with a dedicated focus on setting up the systems needed to enable collection, reuse and recycling.

As a starting point, the measures should target products that are consumed in high volumes, likely to become pollution and cause more harm due to their design, such as beverage bottles and food containers. Initial requirements should focus on priority plastic products’ reusability and recyclability, on recycled plastics and on setting up essential systems to facilitate the circular economy transition, such as reuse systems and extended producer responsibility schemes. 

Align financial flows and ensure sufficient resources. The treaty must include a comprehensive finance package that leverages all available sources and aligns financial flows, including public and private financing, with the objectives of the treaty and the implementation of its measures.

This package will ensure predictable, adequate, equitable and accessible financial support to enable all parties to effectively implement the treaty. The financial resources needed are considerable, but the costs of inaction (business-as-usual) are far greater, especially for low-income countries. 

Future-proof the treaty for long-term success. The treaty must include mechanisms to allow for the strengthening of control measures and implementation measures beyond the treaty’s adoption. The current set of proposed priority measures provides a sound basis for global action, but to achieve the ultimate goal of ending plastic pollution, states must progressively expand and dial up their efforts over time, in accordance with emerging scientific evidence, assessments and monitoring of the treaty’s effectiveness. 

While there is a strong push for consensus to achieve universal adherence to the treaty, this should not come at the risk of creating a weak treaty that will fail to protect people and nature. If good-faith negotiations break down, states that are committed to ending plastic pollution must be prepared to act boldly and come to INC-5 prepared to vote in favour of all four critical elements to be included in the treaty or to put forward a credible alternative pathway for their adoption.

A treaty with binding obligations supported by the majority of stakeholders will be more effective than one based solely on voluntary national actions supported by all member states.

I’ll start to close with a not-so-fun fact: during the seven minutes it took for you to read this article, plastic pollution in our oceans increased by about 150 tonnes. The world cannot wait: in November we must secure an effective global treaty to end plastic pollution for good.

The clock is ticking and the world is watching as the fate of our future generations and our planet is in the hands of our leaders. Will they take the bold actions required or will they turn their backs on us?

• Sadan is WWF plastics policy lead for Africa.