Negotiations on plastic agreements in Busan: Countries block progress

Negotiations on plastic agreements in Busan: Countries block progress

The recent negotiation round of the UN to the global plastic agreement that ended on December 1, 2024 in Busan, South Korea, did not agree. As greenpeace , the positions of the countries remain too far apart. Despite the failure of this negotiating round, Greenpeace confirmed the need for a strong agreement that aims to reduce global plastic production by 75 percent by 2040. Marc Dengler, plastic expert at Greenpeace, praised the clear attitude of over a hundred countries, including Austria and the EU, against the influence of oil and gas-producing countries. These countries push for an effective agreement that sets ambitious goals for reducing disposable plastic.

progress and setbacks in the negotiations

A central complexity factor of the negotiations is the question of plastic production itself. As wecf The main problem of the inclusion of harmful chemicals in the agreement unresolved, which significantly affects progress. Despite the previous discussions in Ottawa and the move there to develop binding rules in order to reduce plastic production, the interests of countries that bow to the needs of the plastic industry cause a delay. This leads to a compromise that is considered inadequate to adequately tackle the seriousness of the plastic crisis.

The blockade keeping of some states was identified as one of the main causes of the failure of contractual agreements, whereby fossil fuel producers in particular try to question and water down decisive points in the contract. Finding the unit in the next step of the negotiations is considered critical in order to combat the pressing environmental problems through plastic sustainably. Often the view of the entire life cycle of plastic - from production to disposal - is left behind the expectations of the international community.