Plastic pollution is accumulating in our water, air, food, and bodies while the majority of Member States continue to allow themselves to be bullied by a small group of petroleum-producing nations according to Pressenza, the International Press Agency. Their failure to call for a vote has put the fate of the plastics treaty in jeopardy.
The progressive proposals have the numbers. 100+ countries support a binding global production phasedown target, 100+ countries support a binding phaseout of harmful products and chemicals, 150+ countries support a strong financial mechanism, 120+ countries support a standalone article on health. However The Guardian reported that 234 lobbyists from the oil, petrochemical and plastics industries outnumber the combined delegations of all 27 EU member states, and far exceed the number of people attending with the delegation of scientists as well as Indigenous peoples at the Geneva talks.
After years of stalled talks and only a few days left to secure a strong treaty, Pressenza reports the stocktake plenary was a critical moment for the Chair and Member States to turn things around by calling for a vote, in order to break the paralysis of consensus-based decision-making. However, while many countries expressed frustration at the lack of progress and explicitly called out petro-state stalling tactics, no country took action to unlock negotiations and exercise democracy.
“It’s unbelievable we’re still stuck with this bloated text full of brackets at this stage of the negotiations,” says Salisa Traipipitsiriwat of Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Thailand. “Consensus is clearly holding us back from reaching agreement, yet still countries did not have the courage to take action. Yes, voting is politically sensitive, but we need to put it on the table if we are to secure a strong treaty. It’s now or never.”
There is one week left for countries to have the courage to follow through on their promises. The self-called “High Ambition Coalition” must live up to its title.
Pressenza said the coalition’s chair repeated the same methods that have been proven ineffective, and in an abrupt move, he cut the plenary short before all Member States queued were given the mic, which undermines a process that is supposed to be Member-led.
Thais Carvajal of Zero Waste Alliance Ecuador states, “To move forward, it’s time to bring the vote to the table. The clock is ticking, and we cannot remain stuck in a broken process. A treaty that fails to deliver impact is far more dangerous than one that fails to please everyone.”
Merrisa Naidoo of GAIA Africa states, “A stronger procedural action to unlock voting could have advanced text negotiations from the stalemate that continues to deadlock urgent action to address the plastics crisis. We are not asking for charity, we are demanding courage.”
