Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

It was decided in 2022 that there should be a strong global treaty on the use of plastics by the end of 2024 as part of the climate change policy. The Ottawa conference which begins on April 24 is a prelude to the final text of the treaty. The summit chair, Ecuador’s vice foreign minister, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, said that to speed up negotiations he would form groups of seven countries each to discuss the issues. “Time is not our best ally. We need to start negotiating on the opening day.”

The predictable divisions and dilemmas are there between groups. While countries like Saudi Arabia and China, grouped as Like-Minded Countries, are not too eager for binding treaty obligations, others like members of the European Union, Mexico, Australia, Japan and Rwanda, known as High Ambition Coalition, want to reach binding treaty obligations. The spokesperson of the International Council of Chemical Associations, Stewart Harris, has put forward the viewpoint of the industry: “We are looking at the agreement to accelerate actions that industry is already doing on its own.” This includes recycling and redesigning plastic products.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Aramco said that it will be sending one-third of its oil produce to the petrochemical industry to make plastics. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin JIan said China “has always attached great importance to the control of plastic pollution and is willing to work with other countries to make joint progress in negotiations.” China produces one-third of the world’s plastic. The United States, the biggest generator of plastic waste, has not joined any of the blocks at the negotiations. But it supports a high ambitious treaty goal, and wants the individual countries to decide how they would want to meet the goals.

Plastics contribute five per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions which are expected to grow to 20 per cent by 2050. And production of plastic is expected to treble by 2060. There is the fear that harmful effects of plastic will grow too. A fifth of the plastic waste is burned, increasing the carbon emissions, while 10 per cent is recycled. The rest mars landscapes, clogs waterways and landfills. “More plastic production means more plastic pollution,” says international coordinator of International Pollutants Elimination Network, Bjorn Beeler.  In the preceding round of negotiations at Nairobi last November, 130 countries had agreed that the companies must disclose how much plastic they produce and which chemicals they use in the process. This is seen as a good beginning of tracking plastic production and of getting to know the harmful chemicals that go into its production.

It is an accepted fact that the climate crisis needs to be tackled in multiple ways. There are no single solutions. The issue of plastics may appear to be a small part compared to the use of fossil fuels, but it does contribute to the emissions challenge. Also, plastics have the health hazard dimension. The chemical pollution caused by it poses a threat to public health. That is why, the production, use and disposal of plastics become a crucial issue. Everyone is agreed that single use of plastic is the most harmful, and that there is need to step up the recycling process. With each stage of recycling, the harmful effects plastic causes gets diminished. Despite its harmful impact on the environment, many people believe that plastic is the most useful product and that ways have to be found to handle it with care.

The awareness is the outcome of the pressure exerted by the environmental groups. Without the work of the activists, the production and use of plastic would have gone on unchecked. Plastic is not bio-degradable because of its chemical element, and therefore so much more dangerous to the people and the environment.