UN treaty against plastic waste on a knife-edge

The negotiations were due to end on Thursday. On behalf of the European Union, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said: "The EU is ready to act, but not at any price."

Dozens of countries reacted with dismay on Wednesday to a last-minute draft agreement from the conference chair. Virtually all ambitious targets and conditions for governments had been removed. "This text is unacceptable and does not even deliver the minimum needed to deal with the urgency of the challenge," warned the Danish delegate on behalf of the 27 EU countries. "Unacceptable" and "red lines crossed" - these were the words of numerous government representatives.

The sticking point: limiting production

More than 120 countries are backing the call to limit the use and production of plastic to a sustainable level. The aim is to phase out certain single-use plastic products such as straws or polystyrene cups worldwide. For oil-producing countries, however, the issue of limiting production is a red rag. They see their business dwindling. Plastic is mainly made from oil. Instead, the countries only want to accept an agreement on how to deal with waste.

"The problem of international plastic pollution is gigantic," said Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, on the eve of the final day. "The quantities produced are not sustainable. The constant addition of new plastic must find limits."

What plastic does to ecosystems and people

Plastic pollutes oceans and the environment, poisons ecosystems, kills fish and other creatures and endangers human health. The smallest particles are increasingly being found in organs and even in the brain. According to studies, nano- and microplastic particles impair the immune system, can settle in arteries and promote inflammation.

The United Nations Environment Assembly, the highest decision-making body for environmental issues, adopted a plastics treaty in 2022. The mandate states that the treaty should cover the entire life cycle of plastic, from production and design to disposal. For ambitious countries like Germany and the EU, this means producing less, reusing and recycling plastic products and disposing of what remains in an environmentally friendly way.

"We like plastic, it's a great product and we will continue to need it," said EU Environment Commissioner Roswall. "But we don't like plastic pollution." This must finally be stopped.

Harsh criticism

Kenya, the Philippines and numerous other countries criticized the new draft treaty as nothing more than a management plan for waste. Agreement on the lowest common denominator was not an option, said the UK representative. Even oil producer Saudi Arabia, which has long been opposed to limiting production, criticized the text.

"The text is a gift to the petrochemical industry and a betrayal of humanity," said Graham Forbes, head of the delegation of the environmental organization Greenpeace. The root of the problem, the relentless production of plastic, is being ignored.