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UN Negotiations in Busan: Bridge Built Towards Historic Global Plastics Treaty

UN member states have built a bridge towards an ambitious global treaty to end plastic pollution at the negotiations in Busan, South Korea – but an additional negotiating session will be needed in 2025 to finalise the agreement.

PRESS RELEASE – 1 December 2024

UN Negotiations in Busan: Bridge Built Towards Historic Global Plastics Treaty

  • An impressive majority of UN member states demonstrated strong commitment to an ambitious global plastics treaty despite strong opposition and delay tactics by several countries with petrochemical industries.
  • Additional negotiating round scheduled for 2025 to finalise agreement.
  • Important progress on fishing gear provisions restored to treaty text.

Seven intense days of negotiations in Busan, South Korea, were not enough for UN member states to reach a globally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. Delegations will need to continue their work at a resumed session in 2025. Stumbling stones were the small group of countries with strong ties to the petrochemical industry which prevented the completion of negotiations this week with their delay tactics as well as opposition to meaningful provisions to curb plastic production and harmful chemicals. Nonetheless, the threat of a weak compromise has been avoided and the groundwork towards an ambitious, legally binding agreement laid in Korea. The extra time will be crucial to finalise a treaty that can effectively tackle the plastic crisis across its entire lifecycle – from limiting production to preventing pollution.

Fabienne McLellan , Managing Director of OceanCare, said:

“What we witnessed in Busan was both challenging and inspiring. An impressive number of countries has worked tirelessly to build a bridge towards a treaty that has the potential to become the most significant deal for environmental protection since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Rwanda, Panama, Mexico, Fiji, the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, and numerous Latin American and African member states continuously championed ambitious measures. Even though the latest draft treaty text is still far too weak and some countries' delaying tactics prevented us from crossing that bridge this week, the foundation for meaningful action has been laid. OceanCare is particularly delighted that provisions on preventing pollution from fishing and aquaculture gear, including ghost gear – one of the deadliest forms of plastic pollution for marine life – have been restored to the draft text.

“The week-long negotiations in Busan demonstrated that multilateralism is essential to address global environmental crises. Despite systematic attempts by a small minority of nations to weaken the treaty, a broad alliance of countries from the Global South and North maintained their commitment to ambitious measures that would effectively reduce plastic production and pollution. This proves that multilateralism can work, even in the face of strong opposition from vested interests. The world needs this treaty, and we will continue working towards its successful completion. The road ahead may be longer than initially planned, but the destination remains clear. The majority of countries understand that we need a strong, legally binding treaty that curbs plastic production and establishes clear obligations to phase out the most harmful chemicals and plastic products to protect our oceans, our planet, and our health from pollution.”

Ewoud Lauwerier, Plastic Policy Expert at OceanCare, emphasised:

"For the negotiations to succeed, three key issues must be addressed at the resumed negotiating session: First, we need full and unrestricted access for civil society organisations, stakeholders and rights-holders – the exclusion of observers we experienced in Busan and at previous sessions cannot be repeated. Second, the overwhelming presence of petrochemical industry lobbyists must be reined in – those with vested interests in increasing plastic production should not be allowed to undermine these crucial talks. Finally, we must move beyond the requirement for consensus that allows a minority to block progress. UN procedures allow for voting when all efforts to reach consensus have been exhausted – this option must remain on the table to achieve a meaningful treaty."

ENDS

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About OceanCare

OceanCare is an international marine conservation non-governmental organisation, founded in Switzerland in 1989. The organisation pursues the protection and restoration of the marine environment and marine wildlife with a strong policy focus, combining research, conservation projects and education. OceanCare’s remit includes marine pollution, climate change, marine mammal hunting and the environmental consequences of fisheries. Its work is supported by a team of scientific, legal and policy experts, and involves strategic collaboration with civil society organisations and coalitions around the world. OceanCare is an officially accredited partner and observer to several UN conventions and other international fora.  www.oceancare.org

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OceanCare
Dániel Fehér, Strategic Communications Lead
Gerbestrasse 6, P.O.Box 372
CH-8820 Waedenswil - Switzerland
+49 176 81434026 
dfeher@oceancare.org
www.oceancare.org

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