Treaty to tackle plastic pollution

Context: More than 170 countries will converge in Busan,
Republic of Korea, to negotiate a new legally binding global treaty to end
plastic pollution, including marine pollution. This will be the fifth round of
talks between nations since the 2022, when the UN environmental Assembly (UNEA)
agreed to develop such a treaty by the end of 2024. The annual global
production of plastic doubled from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million
tonnes in 2019, it is again expected to grow up to 700 million tonnes by 2040. According
to some reports about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste might be generated by
the end of this year, a jump by 62% between 2024-50.

Key points

·      
Global
Plastics Treaty and its objectives: Description - The Global Plastics Treaty is an ambitious
initiative involving over 175 UN member nations aimed at eliminating plastics.

Objective – By the end of 2024, the aim is to create a legal document setting out
deadlines for countries to decrease plastic production, cut out unnecessary
uses, prohibit specific chemicals, and set recycling goals.

·      
United
Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA): About - UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body
on the environment. UNEA enjoys the universal membership of all 193 UN Member
States and the full involvement of major groups and stakeholders. It gathers
ministers of environment in Nairobi, Kenya every 2 years.

Creation - UNEA was created in 2012, as an outcome of the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil.

Function - UNEA sets the global environmental agenda, provides overarching policy
guidance, and defines policy responses to address emerging environmental
challenges.

·      
Reasons
behind the delay of treaty: Economic
Challenges - Economic challenges are slowing down the agreement process.
Countries like Saudi Arabia, the US, Russia, India, and Iran are reluctant to
set strict deadlines to stop plastic production whereas some African countries,
backed by several European nations, propose a target year of around 2040 to
ensure a gradual reduction in plastic use.

Vote vs. Consensus - There is disagreement on whether contentious issues should be resolved
by vote or consensus. Consensus implies that every country has a veto and in
this case adoption of treaty will become very difficult.

·      
India’s
stance: India is not comfortable with
binding targets and insists that the treaty should address factors like the
availability, accessibility, and affordability of alternatives, considering
cost implications. India’s position reflects the idea of “common but
differentiated responsibility,”. This is also observed in Indias climate change
negotiations where India demanded that wealthier nations assist developing
countries and adopt tougher targets themselves.

·      
India to
tackle plastic pollution: In 2022,
India implemented the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules (2021), which
banned 19 categories of “single use” plastics.

Shortcomings - This ban does not cover plastic bottles under 200 ml or multi-layered
packaging boxes like milk cartons. Enforcement of the ban on single-use plastic
items varies across the country, with many outlets still selling these
products.

·      
Conclusion: Shifting away from plastics needs big investments in
alternative products and making them cheap. Just signing treaties won’t tackle
plastic pollution well without these investments and practical goals.