Fifth session for a global treaty against plastic pollution

Updated on 25 November 2024

How can we avoid an ocean of plastic in the future, when 400 million metric tons of plastic waste pollute the environment every year and 15 metric tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean every minute?

Plastic pollution often ends up in the ocean. It is estimated that 85% of marine waste is plastic waste, representing between 75 and 199 million tonnes. Of the macro-waste found on French coasts, 86% is made up of plastic products, and 23% is single-use plastic products .

One hundred and seventy-five countries are meeting again from 25 November to 1 December 2024 for a fifth and final round of negotiations to finalise the global treaty.

According to the UNEP report "A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF MARINE WASTE AND PLASTIC POLLUTION" published in 2021, the consequences of plastic pollution in the ocean are manifold:

• Plastic waste affects marine fauna by causing entanglement, starvation, drowning, laceration of internal tissues, suffocation and deprivation of oxygen and light, physiological stress, and toxicological damage. This affects all marine biodiversity, from marine mammals such as whales and seals to turtles, birds and fish. Fatal outcomes are common.
• Invertebrates such as bivalves, plankton, worms and corals are also affected.
• By affecting plankton, plastic waste can alter the global carbon cycle.
• The decomposition of plastic waste releases microplastics and other pollutants that end up in marine food chains, and therefore on our plates and in our bodies.

To combat this pollution, the United Nations Environment Agency (UNEP) adopted resolution 5/14 in 2022 , which created an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) responsible for drawing up a legally binding international instrument to combat plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, by the end of 2024.

Five sessions have been scheduled to produce this treaty, the fourth of which was held in Canada from 23 to 29 April 2024.

Delegates from 175 countries met to make progress on the revised draft text at their penultimate meeting. Work will continue this summer in the sub-committees before the final session, scheduled for 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Korea.

There is still a long way to go, with two opposing coalitions. On the one hand, there is the coalition of states wishing to reduce plastic production with an ambitious treaty, led by Norway and Rwanda with countries such as France, Germany and the European Union. The proposal by Peru and Rwanda to reduce plastic production by 40% by 2040 was not adopted.

Faced with this group, a coalition of oil- and plastic-producing countries has formed around the Gulf States, with Iran, Russia, Brazil, China and India all favouring plastic recycling over reducing production.

Currently, less than 10% of plastics are recycled worldwide, and while this figure may rise in the future, reduction at source is essential if we are to rapidly reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans.

At the same time, the G7 environment ministers meeting in Turin "committed to reducing the global production of primary polymers in order to end plastic pollution by 2040", according to a draft final communiqué.