Plastics, EU will push for ambitious global treaty at Geneva negotiations

Brussels – The EU is optimistic about the future of the global plastics treaty. UN negotiations (started in 2022) to put on paper an international treaty on the issue, scheduled for 5–14 August in Geneva, have reached their final stage. The EU executive will push for the adoption of a regulatory framework covering the entire life cycle of plastic products, from design to production and waste disposal.

The objective of Brussels, speaking on behalf of the Twenty-Seven, is that the issue be tackled multilaterally with a holistic and transnational approach, going beyond the perspective in which each country decides autonomously which rules to set for itself, since tomes of scientific studies certify that pollution does not stop at state borders.

Currently, international commitments are mainly directed towards short-term goals and focus mainly on actions to be implemented in the downstream part of the product lifecycle, mainly concerning management and disposal of waste containing plastics. At most, some countries are taking measures to reduce consumption and increase recycling, or are taking action to directly remove certain products from the market, such as single-use plastics.

Instead, the EU would like to focus multilateral efforts on a more organic regulation that also involves the upstream part of the production process. As much as downstream interventions remain central, the Berlaymont notes, there is also a need to get to grips with all the stages from the very choice of creating a product to its design, then assembly, packaging, shipping, and finally marketing. 

Among the main problems that the draft treaty should help to address, EU sources note, is the ever-worsening pollution emergency. At current production levels, the commitments made by countries so far will not succeed in significantly limiting it, especially in the marine and aquifer ecosystems. 

On the other hand, the same sources emphasise that being able to introduce clear commitments (and ensure compliance across the board) will also allow companies to move within a predictable regulatory framework capable of guaranteeing a level playing field for economic actors. One of the guiding principles, according to the EU, should be that “polluter pays“. 

There is cautious optimism in the Old Continent. Lately, the Commission emphasises, there has been a shift by many players (including heavyweights such as China and Brazil) in the direction of a shortening of negotiating positions, interpreted as a sign of a growing willingness to accept a compromise that works for all. 

The important thing, the official explains, is to equip the treaty with appropriate and flexible mechanisms to be able to adapt it to future technical and scientific developments, without making it lose its effectiveness, including monitoring and implementation tools to ensure that everyone plays by the rules. One of the most delicate knots will, as always, be that of funding (Brussels would like a dedicated financial instrument).