Greenpeace on the UN plastic agreement: Much delay and little unity

2023-06-02 20:18:05

Oil and gas lobby torpedoes negotiations in Paris – Austria and the EU must work for ambitious plastic reduction targets

Paris/Vienna (OTS) – Greenpeace Austria takes stock after the end of the second round of negotiations on the global plastic agreement: According to the environmental protection organization, the progress is disappointing. Some countries with large oil industries have repeatedly blocked the negotiations and opposed binding global measures. In the end, however, countries of the Global South and the EU with high ambitions managed to get a first draft of the plastic contract commissioned. Greenpeace is calling on Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler to continue to work with the EU for a strong plastics agreement. The agreement must anchor binding global reduction targets for plastic production and immediately ban particularly problematic and unnecessary types of plastic such as sachets.

“The world is drowning in plastic, but so far the states have not managed to press the stop button. The oil and plastic lobby in Paris pulled out all the stops to torpedo an ambitious plan. To meet the Paris climate goals and the toxic effects To reduce the use of plastic for health and the environment, the plastic flood must be stopped at the source, if this is not successful, the global plastic agreement will fail,” says Lisa Panhuber, circular economy expert at Greenpeace in Austria, who is on site as an observer of the negotiations There were also countless industry representatives in Paris who lobbied against restrictions. In the end, the states were only able to agree on a minimum compromise and postponed all difficult substantive negotiations again. The contract text commissioned will be the starting point for the next round of negotiations in November.

Greenpeace is calling for a binding agreement to ensure that the plastics industry does not continue to expand as planned. The goal must be to stop the production of new plastic by 2040. Austria must work with the EU to switch to reusable and durable products instead of disposable plastic. In addition, the EU and other industrialized countries must provide financial support to countries in the Global South to eliminate plastic pollution and build safe waste systems. The next round of negotiations will take place in Kenya in November, and the UN wants to finalize the agreement by the end of 2024.

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