Convention to Finalize World’s First Treaty to Address Global Plastic Crisis

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The negotiators from nations around the globe are meeting in Busan, South Korea this week to finalize the world’s first treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution. This is the fifth time the nations are converging to formulate a legally binding agreement to cut production and consumption of plastics, especially single-use plastics. The previous four meetings had failed to arrive at a consensus on the goals and interests of a potential treaty.

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Several countries, led by Norway and Rwanda, along with the European Union call for heightened efforts to reduce total volume of plastic on Earth by putting breaks on its design, production and consumption. However, leading plastic-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia disagree, raising strong opposition to proposals that aim to put limits on plastic manufacturing.

It must be noted that the U.S. delegation was of the opinion that countries should develop their own plan to fight plastic pollution. However, it backtracked from this stance this summer, extending support to a global treaty.

Global plastics production and consumption are expected to reach 736 million tons by 2040, a substantial 70% increase over 2020 levels, according to approximate projections.