Waste
CSE-DTE at Ottawa: As talks progress, ‘North Stars’ bring hope for a Global Plastic Treaty
Rwanda & Peru’s conference room paper on primary plastics and Norway’s proposal on chemicals of concern offer guidance on decision-making even as Parties are more divided than ever
By Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh
Published: Sunday 28 April 2024
Two significant documents have emerged at the ongoing fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) being held under United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) aegis in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
The documents have shed light on critical aspects of the ongoing negotiations for a global plastic treaty to end plastic pollution.
The first document, prepared by Rwanda and Peru, emphasises the need for a global target to reduce the production of primary plastic polymers. The second document, presented by Norway, outlines a comprehensive approach to identifying and regulating chemicals of concern in plastics.
Together, these documents serve as ‘north stars’ in the ongoing talks to end plastic pollution, especially for ‘upstream’ measures where member states stand more divided than ever before.
In the context of plastic pollution, ‘upstream’ includes activities such as extraction of raw materials (petroleum or natural gas), refining these materials into monomers like ethylene, and converting them into primary plastic (virgin) polymers like polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE), which are then manufactured in the form of pellets, powder or flakes.
Rwanda and Peru’s CRP
Rwanda and Peru, the original proponents of the ‘full lifecycle’ approach, have presented a conference room paper (CRP) at Ottawa.
A CRP serves several purposes within international negotiations. It provides detailed explanations about a Party’s or negotiating bloc’s position on complex issues, propose new negotiating text, or reports the outcomes of group deliberations to the plenary.
Read CSE-DTE at Ottawa: Where does India stand in the global plastic treaty talks? An explainer
Although CRPs are temporary and expire at the end of the meeting, a Party may request that certain parts or the entire content of a CRP be included in the final meeting report. CRP documents are particularly useful when there is insufficient time for official translation into the meeting’s official languages.
The CRP presented by Rwanda and Peru highlights the importance of setting a global target for reducing the production of primary plastic polymers. It references UNEA Resolution 5/14, adopted in March 2022, which emphasises the promotion of sustainable production and consumption of plastics across their lifecycle.
The document recognises primary plastic polymer production as a key metric for evaluating interventions aimed at reducing plastic pollution and proposes a global reduction target to benchmark collective actions. A transparent framework for reporting production data is deemed essential, facilitating informed decision-making and tracking progress.
Moreover, the document advocates for the inclusion of a ‘start-and-strengthen’ mechanism within the International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI), allowing for the adjustment of control measures over time without requiring additional amendment or ratification.
This mechanism ensures flexibility and adaptability in achieving the global reduction target as circumstances evolve, reflecting a dynamic approach to addressing plastic pollution.
Norwegian proposal
The document presented by Norway outlines a systematic strategy for identifying and regulating chemicals of concern in plastics. It acknowledges the risks posed by these chemicals to human health and the environment and proposes a pragmatic regulatory intervention, focusing on identifying chemicals already subject to restriction globally and adopting a generic risk management approach for chemicals with inherent risks.
Proposed criteria for identifying chemicals of concern include categories such as carcinogenicity, specific organ toxicity, endocrine disruption, and persistence in the environment.
Two initial lists are suggested for inclusion in the ILBI: List 1 for chemicals to be banned or eliminated and List 2 for chemicals to be avoided and minimised. These lists, based on existing regulatory actions and expert consultations, provide a framework for effective regulation and monitoring of chemicals in plastics. Detailed examples and appendices further illustrate the scope of the proposal, highlighting the need for robust regulatory measures to promote safer plastic production and consumption with respect to chemical usage.
Consensus vs Voting deadlock
As negotiations progress and efforts are made to refine the revised zero draft, certain subgroups have achieved notable advancements, consolidating the available options to a more manageable size. Nevertheless, challenges persist in garnering consensus, particularly regarding upstream measures concerning primary plastic production and chemicals and polymers of concern. A coalition, self-identified as the like-minded group of countries, remains staunchly opposed to these measures.
The like-minded group of countries has also consistently opposed the notion of resorting to voting as a means of decision-making. As negotiations continue, the absence of consensus on decision-making mechanisms poses a risk of rendering the progress achieved so far futile, potentially leading to further dilution of the already compromised text.
During the deliberations on subsidiary bodies, a member state suggested that negotiations should begin with a focus on achieving consensus. However, it was also proposed that the option of voting be retained to facilitate progress if consensus proves unattainable. It suggests that the future Conference of Parties (COP) should prioritise endeavours to build consensus, resorting to voting only after all efforts to reach an agreement have been made. In such cases, substantive matters would require approval by two-thirds of the Parties, while procedural matters would be decided by a simple majority.
By advocating for global reduction targets concerning primary plastic polymers, presenting thorough strategies for regulating concerning chemicals in plastics, and offering clear guidance for decision-making, these documents help in sustaining global hope for a strong legally binding instrument dedicated to ending plastic pollution across the lifecycle of plastics.
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