Delegates from 100 countries meet for last-chance talks to reduce plastic pollution
Delegates from 176 UN member states, NGOs, scientists and industrialists are meeting in Geneva until 14 August to negotiate an international treaty to reduce plastic pollution.
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00:00Can a global treaty to end plastic pollution be reached?
00:06Gathered in Geneva, delegates from around 100 countries, including the EU, are tackling the problem.
00:14Their goal is to establish legally binding targets to cut plastic production.
00:20In contrast, oil and gas exporters like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia prefer to focus solely on waste management and recycling.
00:30Well, some countries, of course, are worried about the financial implications, particularly if they're a country that exports a lot of oil and gas, which is the main carbon source of plastics.
00:41Also, if they're a country that produces a lot of plastic products, they're concerned about the potential financial implications.
00:48There's a good number of countries, however, more than 100 who are aligned, already agreed on a high ambition treaty.
00:54The European Commission is pushing for a treaty that tackles the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal.
01:03It also backs a gradual phase-out of certain plastics that are harmful to human health and the environment.
01:11A marine biology professor is urging negotiators to take action.
01:16The plastic pollution is a global environmental problem.
01:18Plastic contaminates our planet, literally, from our deepest oceans to our highest mountains.
01:25It's present in Arctic sea ice right the way through to the equator.
01:29The microplastic pieces that I've spent much of my career working on are now present in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.
01:36460 million tons of plastic are produced each year.
01:4181% of plastic products end up as waste in less than a year.
01:46Of this waste, only 9% is recycled, 20% is incinerated, more than 20% is abandoned in nature and almost half ends up in landfill sites.
01:58The negotiations attended by delegates, NGOs, scientists and industrialists end on August 14th.
02:05The previous session in Korea at the end of 2024 failed to reach an agreement.
