Global Plastics Pollution Treaty: Standoff on production regulations unresolved, agreement postponed — Countries should resume negotiations early and achieve treaty formation

The 6th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC6) aimed at establishing an international treaty to prevent global environmental pollution caused by plastic waste was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from August 5 to 15, with participation from government representatives from more than 180 countries. However, confrontation between proponents and opponents persisted until the end regarding plastic production regulations and other issues, meaning the committee failed to reach agreement and postponed decisions for the future.

Plastic, familiar and convenient, continues to see increasing global production and consumption. However, because it is not easily decomposed when released into the environment, single-use containers and other items become waste, part of which flows into the oceans. Therefore, this problem transcends national borders and is said to be one of the "three major global environmental problems" alongside climate change and biodiversity loss.

The plastic waste problem required a solution through international frameworks like the "Paris Agreement" under the Framework Convention on Climate Change. That makes the postponement of any agreement this time, following the meeting in South Korea, extremely disappointing. However, the international community needs to unite and advance strong countermeasures. Countries are urged to resume negotiations early and work toward achieving agreement on effective plastic pollution treaty content and treaty formation.

Europe and Island States VS Oil-Producing Countries and US and China

It was decided that a plastic pollution treaty should be formulated at the UN Environment Assembly held in March 2022 to halt the increasingly serious plastic waste problem. Since INC1, held in Uruguay in November-December of the same year, discussions have been held on a wide range of items including waste management approaches and production volume regulations. While the UN Environment Assembly aimed for treaty agreement by the end of 2024, the gap in opinions regarding production regulations and other issues remained large at INC5 in South Korea, which was the deadline, and the meeting abandoned agreement. Formation of the treaty at this postponed INC6 was expected.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which plays a secretariat role for treaty formulation, INC6 was attended by over 1,400 government representatives from 183 countries, as well as more than 1,000 observers from over 400 environmental protection-related organizations. On the opening day, the 5th, INC6 Chair Luis Vayas (Ecuador) stated that "Since [plastic pollution] is a human-made crisis, it must be tackled through human effort and global cooperation," expressing hope for agreement within the session.

However, according to UNEP and participants in the meeting, discussions that remained unresolved from INC5 continued from an early stage regarding the approach to regulations from the production stage, which was the biggest focus of this meeting. The European Union (EU), which is active in plastic waste regulation, and island states where waste flowing into the ocean washes ashore consistently demanded from INC5 that international reduction targets for production and consumption volumes be included in the treaty text. Meanwhile, oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, which produce oil that serves as raw material for plastics, maintained their position that "waste management should be prioritized" at this meeting as well. The United States and China also indicated opposition to production regulations.

Vayas presented a draft treaty text that deleted clauses directly referring to production regulations near the end of the meeting. However, opposition from regulation proponents was fierce, and no agreement was found even on the 15th when the session was extended by one day. Ultimately, agreement was postponed once again. Regarding this outcome, meeting participants stated that "China, as well as the United States under the Trump administration turning to the anti-regulation side, had a significant impact."

Treaty text was fairly well established except for production regulations

The draft treaty text failed to reach agreement due to confrontation over production regulations. For this reason, harsh criticism of Chairman Vayas' meeting management was reportedly heard at the venue. However, the chairman's draft shows that the treaty text was fairly well established except for parts related to production regulations, including clauses to reduce waste from inappropriate plastic management. There were achievements to a certain degree.

The draft treaty presented by the chairman on the 15th consisted of 31 articles. The objective given in Article 1 is clearly stated to be "to protect the environment and human health from effects of plastic pollution, including in the marine environment." Article 2, "Principles and Approaches," notes that it is "the responsibility of [participating] States to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond national jurisdiction."

Additionally, Article 4, "Plastic Products," shows a direction toward reducing product manufacturing and consumption, albeit conditionally. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that it also touches on the need to reduce production of plastics containing harmful chemical substances. Besides this, it provides detailed regulations regarding inappropriate management, which is considered a cause of plastic waste.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen stated after the meeting ended that "plastic pollution... is in our groundwater, in our soil, in our rivers, in our oceans and yes, in our bodies," declaring that UNEP would continue to fight against plastic waste as a common crisis for humanity.

Annual 6.1 million tons flow into oceans and other bodies

Plastic is inexpensive, lightweight, durable, and easy to process. Production volume expanded rapidly from the 1970s, centered on developed countries. According to reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and others, global production increased by approximately 230 times from 2 million tons annually in 1950 to 460 million tons in 2019 over roughly 70 years. There are estimates that more than 26 billion tons will be produced worldwide in the next approximately 30 years.

The problem is that many of the produced and consumed products are released into the environment in inappropriate ways, with the proportion that is reused being less than 10% on the global average. The amount discarded (waste) in 2019 was 353 million tons, doubling in 20 years. The amount of plastic waste flowing into rivers and oceans has been said to be approximately 8 million tons annually, but OECD's latest estimate puts it at 6.1 million tons annually as of 2019. Although the estimated figures have decreased, it is still an enormous amount. There are calculations that by 2050, that amount will exceed the total weight of fish.

Studies showing health risks continue to emerge

Plastic waste breaks up during drift and becomes minute in size. Pieces with a diameter of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" (MP). When marine organisms such as fish, sea turtles, and seabirds mistake these for food and eat them, not only do they die, but they also adversely affect human health through the food chain. Studies showing such risks continue to emerge.

For example, an Italian research group analyzed plaques (masses) formed in blood vessels by cutting them from 257 patients with carotid artery disease, and microscopic plastics such as MPs were detected in 60% of patients. Although the relationship between microscopic plastics and disease is not clear, the research paper was published in a US medical journal in March 2024 and attracted worldwide attention.

In Japan, a group led by Professor Emeritus Hideshige Takada of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (environmental pollution chemistry) has continued research on the impact of plastic waste on marine ecosystems for a long time. In particular, they have repeatedly sounded warnings about the harmfulness of chemical substances added as flame retardants and ultraviolet absorbers contained in products.

Urgent need for effective international treaty formulation

According to an environmental think tank official who participated in INC6 as an observer, US President Trump's backward-looking stance on international cooperation on global environmental issues was directly reflected in the US government's response and cast a shadow over the meeting. The president has issued executive orders to halt the transition to paper straws promoted by the previous Biden administration, clearly showing a "return to plastic."

The United States has the highest per-capita plastic container waste amount in the world. The US government's current "America First" approach is often incompatible with the multilateral cooperation framework essential for global environmental issues. This is a worrying situation. Japan has the second-highest waste amount. Japan led the formulation of the goal to "achieve zero additional pollution of marine plastic waste by 2050" as the host country at the Group of 20 (G20) summit held in Osaka in 2019.

Reports from the committee conveyed that "the Japanese government appealed that this time, the treaty should be one in which many countries can participate, taking a neutral position while also working hard as a mediator." However, due to time constraints, it unfortunately appears that Japan was unable to sufficiently demonstrate its presence in moving toward agreement.

While the timing and location of the next INC are undetermined, urgent formulation of an effective international treaty is needed. Even when negotiations resume, resolving confrontation over production regulations will not be easy. Specific regulatory measures can be incorporated even after treaty formation in a form like the Paris Agreement under the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Countries should first strive to finalize the treaty. At the same time, there should be many measures that countries can take domestically, such as preventing plastic waste outflow into the oceans, developing alternative products, and improving recycling rates.