Amid UN negotiations to reach a treaty to end plastic pollution, internal disagreements within the delegation have led Brazil to withdraw a proposal to eliminate problematic plastics. The products listed in the proposal are single-use plastics – disposable items such as bags, straws, cups, plates and cutlery – cosmetics with plastic microspheres, plastic cigarette filters and products made from oxo-biodegradable plastic.
The text was ready to be sent to UNEP – the UN Environment Programme, which is leading the negotiations for the treaty in Busan, South Korea. However, it was blocked by Washington Bonini, representative of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services ( MDIC ) in the Brazilian delegation in Busan, as the Brazilian platform Publica reports.
In messages on a WhatsApp group that brings together the delegation, Bonini asked on Wednesday night (27), Busan time (Wednesday morning in Brazil), that the Foreign Ministry hold off on the proposal. Or, if they’ve already sent it, cancel it,’ he said in messages obtained by Agência Pública.
A career civil servant in the federal government since 2007, Washington Bonini reached his highest position during the Bolsonaro administration, when he was deputy executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice. Bonini worked under the then Minister Anderson Torres, whom he represented in official engagements.
Currently at the MDIC, he has been in charge of the ministry’s chemical industry department since August 2023. Because of my previous experience,” he said, explaining his appointment. I have worked on this issue throughout my career, in the [Ministry of] Planning, in different ministries.
When questioned, Bonini said that the decision to block the Brazilian proposal was aimed at consulting Brasilia on the economic impact of possible bans. He refused to say who was being consulted in Brasilia, but admitted that he had been warned about the difficulties of a ban by industry associations present at the Busan conference – the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (Abiquim) and the Brazilian Plastics Industry Association (Abiplast). He said:
“What they told me is that it’s very important to have criteria, you can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat and say that this [a particular plastic product] is bad.”
This argument is often used by industry to oppose lists that specify which products and substances should be banned. But the specification is based on criteria already agreed by experts brought together by UNEP.
The Brazilian proposal lists 20 criteria for evaluating problematic plastics – such as lack of recyclability, harm to human health and the environment, presence of toxic substances and availability of alternatives, as well as socio-economic impacts and technical feasibility. Bonini, referring to the economic impact of plastic bans, said:
“Caution is always good. We don’t know much about the consequences of the policies we are proposing.”
Asked about the existence of economic impact studies on which the decision to withdraw the Brazilian proposal from the UN negotiating table could be based, Bonini said there were no such analyses, but that it was possible to start from the general theory that by banning a product, its alternative on the market becomes more expensive.
However, he acknowledged that staggering the restrictions up to the ban – which would only come into force between 2030 and 2035 – would give the market the time it needs to adapt. As an example of what worries him, Bonini cited the ban on PVC, which is widely used in plumbing in the construction industry.
The material contains several toxic substances. Among them is phthalate, an endocrine disruptor that affects reproduction in both men and women and has cognitive effects such as reduced reasoning and verbal comprehension. It has also been linked to cardiovascular disease and an increase in some cancers.
Bonini pointed out:
“The restrictions we have in Brazilian legislation aren’t bans, they’re content restrictions by mass and by application.”
However, a study published in 2021 in the journal Environmental Health, published by BioMed Central, showed that phthalates can affect human health at levels 8,000 times lower than the limits considered safe by health authorities in the United States and Europe.
Pressure from the petrochemical industry
The report spoke to representatives from Abiquim, Abiplast and Braskem – the Brazilian giant is the sixth largest petrochemical company in the world and is known for producing resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene and also PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The Brazilian industry’s position is in line with the petrochemical sector in the rest of the world: it is totally opposed to lists restricting problematic plastics and the toxic chemicals they release.
The two lists – one for plastics and one for chemicals – are being drawn up in Busan in the face of strong opposition from the group of Arab countries, which are heavily dependent on the oil industry.
Together with Germany, Brazil has taken on the role of co-facilitator of the negotiations in Busan, focusing on the most contentious issue: setting limits on the production of problematic plastics and related chemicals.
According to the report, Brazilian diplomacy will try to build a bridge between the countries with the strictest proposals for a ban – mainly the Europeans – and the group of Arab countries that oppose any international imposition on their economies.
In a sort of compromise, the Brazilian proposal suggested that the list of products and chemicals should be shared globally as a recommendation, leaving it up to each country to define the deadlines and measures applicable to each product in its national territory.
Although Itamaraty defines the positions of the states, he formulates his proposals with the federal government departments that deal with the issues under negotiation. It is customary for diplomats to only proactively advance proposals in negotiations where there is agreement within the government.
According to the report, the executive secretaries of the MDIC and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) met in Brasilia just before the conference, which began on Monday (25), to finalise the country’s position for Busan, and agreed on a joint position with guidelines that gave Itamaraty the green light.
Now, three days before the end of the conference, Brazilian diplomacy is trying to stitch together a treaty to end plastic pollution under the same opposition at home and abroad: industry.
