Plastic pollution: towards an international treaty under the auspices of the United Nations

Louise Sallé, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: MARTIN BERTRAND / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 06:31, May 27, 2023

Paris is hosting delegations from around the world this Saturday for a week of negotiations under the auspices of the UN, which officially begins on Monday. The challenge is to sign a treaty reducing plastic pollution worldwide before the end of 2024. This is the first time ever that the international community has put itself in working order on this issue. Like the COPs on the climate issue, it is therefore an unprecedented summit that begins even if the negotiations promise to be difficult, especially with plastic-producing countries.

Reluctant countries

This is the fear of NGOs attending the negotiations in the same way as countries, companies and plastics manufacturers. "We have countries that are rather reluctant about a binding treaty, which are rather in favor of voluntary measures on the end of life of plastic, such as waste management in which we have the United States, China, Japan, India or Saudi Arabia," says Diane Beaumenay-Joannet who works for the association Surfrider France.

>> READ ALSO - Environment: why are mayors opposed to the deposit project for plastic bottles?

States that oppose the French and European position, who would like the reduction of plastic production to be mentioned in the text. "From production, there is an impact on the climate and there is also a potential risk of leakage into the environment of the raw material of plastic, which are industrial plastic granaries. So, we need to reduce the production of plastics at the source to reduce the amount of waste to be managed," she told Europe 1. The treaty will not be finalised next weekend. It is planned for the end of 2024, but a draft text should be presented in Paris, with proposals for objectives to be achieved.