Global Plastics Treaty: Negotiations Stall Over Production Curbs
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Environment & Ecology (Plastic Pollution, International environmental conventions and bodies like UNEP, UNEA), International Relations.
Mains: GS Paper 3 (Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Important international institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate).
Key Highlights from the News
Main Event: International discussions to create a global treaty to end plastic pollution (Global Plastics Treaty) have failed again. Consensus could not be reached at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 5.2) meeting in Geneva.
Main Point of Contention: The main dispute is whether the treaty should include legally binding provisions to reduce plastic production.
Two Main Blocs:
"High Ambition Coalition": Led by the European Union, this group includes 80-100 countries, including African and Pacific Island nations. They strongly advocate for a phased reduction in plastic production.
Opposing Bloc: This group, which includes India, the United States, China, and Arab nations, opposes imposing restrictions on the production of plastic polymers.
Origin of Discussions: In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UN Environment Assembly - UNEA) decided that all member states would create a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.
Procedural Challenge: Decisions in the discussions are made by consensus. The absence of a voting mechanism allows even a small group of countries to block progress.
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