Is it crunch time for plastics in Busan, Republic of Korea, as Jordan Wolman’s article in Politico is entitled? He starts:
Plastic is having its Paris moment as negotiators meet in South Korea for make-or-break U.N. talks to land a deal to tackle plastic pollution. Hot on the heels of COP29, diplomats from around the world will be pushing to meet a year-end deadline in the fifth and final scheduled round of discussions. To reach an agreement, they’ll need to answer thorny questions including which products and chemicals should be restricted, how to design plastics to be more easily recycled, who should pay to help developing nations manage waste, whether production should be capped, and whether any of this should be binding or voluntary.
Or is it rather lunch time for plastic producers and polluters? CIEL, the Center for International Environmental Law, documents in its Press Room: “Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Flood Final Scheduled Round of Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations”.
220 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists have registered to participate in the fifth and final scheduled session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to advance a global plastics treaty.
- 220 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists are registered to attend INC-5, the highest at any negotiation for the plastics treaty so far analyzed by CIEL, more than the previous high of 196 lobbyists identified at INC-4.
- Fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists taken together would be the largest single delegation at INC-5, significantly outnumbering the host Republic of Korea’s 140 representatives. Lobbyists also outnumber the delegations from the European Union and all of its Member States combined (191) as well as the 89 representatives from Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) more than two to one and 165 delegates from the whole Latin American and Caribbean region (GRULAC), respectively.
- 17 lobbyists were identified in national delegations, including those from China, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Peru.
- Dow (5) and ExxonMobil (4) were among the best-represented fossil fuel and chemical companies with numerous lobbyists attending the talks.
- Chemical and fossil fuel industry lobbyists outnumber the Scientists’ Coalition for An Effective Plastic Treaty by three to one, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus by almost nine to one.
Bethanie Carney Almroth, Professor of Ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg, Scientist Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty
“The presence of pro-plastics lobbyists at the treaty negotiations has led to an influx of mis- and disinformation that has muddied the waters and slowed progress. What we need is independent evidence-based science to support negotiations. Going forward, it will be essential to implement strong conflict of Interest approaches for all expert groups to provide trusted science and expertise to member states and to support them in meeting their obligations to the treaty.”
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