Climate activists’ optimism ahead of Paris Global Plastic Treaty negotiations

Nyeri, Tuesday May 23, 2023

KNA by Samuel Maina

More than 170 civil society groups and scientists across the world have raised fears over the possible influence of large industrial players in the coming UN Global Plastics Treaty talks scheduled to take place in Paris from May 29 to June 2 this year.

In the letter signed by among others UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall and addressed to UNEP Director Inger Anderson, the lobbyists want delegates to thwart the fossil fuel industry from undermining negotiations in pushing for an effective Global Plastic Treaty.

The Center for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD) Kenya is a signatory in the three-page letter.

Among its key objectives, the Treaty urges nations to commit to a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution by 2024.

However, according to Greenpeace Africa Communications officer Hellen Dena, the fossil fuel industry has been actively lobbying to water down the efforts both directly and through industry groups such as the Association to End Plastic Waste and American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The campaigners are now warning that lack of action to safeguard the initial objectives of the Treaty would jeopardize efforts to reduce plastic waste around the globe whose production is expected to triple by 2050.

“Plastic production has flooded our planet, harming peoples’ health, accelerating social injustice, destroying biodiversity and fueling the climate crisis. Indeed, scientists at the Stockholm institute recently alerted the public that the plastic population had already exceeded safe planetary boundaries threatening the very stability of the earth’s system. And with giant fossil fuel and petrochemical companies like ExxonMobil, Dow, Shell and others investing heavily in building yet more production capacity, this growth is set to continue. Indeed, according to industry estimates, plastic production could double within the next 10 to 15 years and triple by 2050,” reads part of the letter sent to media houses.

The campaigners also want the adoption of a strong conflict of interest policy that will ensure fossil fuel and petrochemical companies are not allowed to undermine the global response to plastic pollution.

To achieve this, the lobbyists want discussions in the upcoming convention to bar individuals and multinationals with private economic interest from advocating for policies that may override human and environmental needs.

“The Global Plastics Treaty offers an historic opportunity to end plastic pollution for all. Its success depends on Member States being able to negotiate in good faith, prioritizing input from those most affected and based on the best available, independent science. To achieve these shared goals, UNEP must implement the measures to prevent undue influence of the fossil fuel and petrochemical companies, which have a vested interest in perpetuating the plastic crisis, “further states the letter.

Louise Edge, Global Plastics Campaigner for Greenpeace UK has termed the coming meeting an ideal forum to help address the environmental threat posed by plastic pollution across the world.

He says the failure or success of the Paris conference will however largely depend on how government leaders present will be forthright in calling for a phased down production of plastics.

“The Global Plastics Treaty is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to solve the plastics crisis. Whether it succeeds or fails depends on whether governments are bold enough to ensure that the treaty delivers what the science says is needed - a cap and phase down of plastic production,” stressed the official.

“This essential measure will be fiercely resisted by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries that profit from plastic. With this letter we are urging the UN to listen to the millions of people around the world who want an end to plastic pollution, rather than the interests of the oil and gas lobby.” adds Edge who is also a signatory to the joint letter to Anderson.

In August last year Greenpeace Africa poked holes into Kenya’s ability to put to rest the plastic waste menace by the year 2030.

According to the group, an earlier report by the Kenya Plastics Pact (KPP) to ensure all plastic packaging in the country is recyclable in eight years’ time was too ambitious and unattainable.

The lobby group claimed the country’s production of plastic materials currently outstrips her ability to recycle the wastes.

The Pact which brings together stakeholders across the plastic value chain recently published a roadmap plan whose objective was to ensure all plastic packaging in the country is recyclable or reusable by the year 2030.

The plan by the pact’s business members and other supporters plans to ensure that 40 percent of plastic packaging is effectively recycled by that time.

“Data shows we can't recycle our way out of the plastics crisis. Recycling does not match the scale of the plastic that’s being produced, which is one of the reasons why only nine per cent of all the plastic waste produced has been recycled. With plastic production projected to increase in the coming years, Kenya will never be able to solve this crisis with only recycling,” said Dena through a press statement.

The group similarly averred that even from highly developed countries with huge investments in recycling and advanced technology, the recycling rate falls short of 50 per cent with a minimal percentage of it finally being converted back to packaging.

 At the time Greenpeace also accused big plastic producers of being behind the plastic pollution threat in the country.

Dena opined that as long as large companies continue with mass production of plastic products, the challenge of addressing the problem will never be solved.

“While efforts by different stakeholders in reducing plastic pollution is critical and is a clear indication of a growing trend, it isn’t enough to solve the cascade of plastic pollution in the country. The real culprits are the big polluters. As long as the companies responsible for this plastic crisis do not stop the massive production of this toxic substance, the urban landscape, the oceans and the ecosystem in general will continue to be threatened,” reads the statement.

“Kenya has been grappling with the impacts of single-use plastics for many years now. In most of the urban areas across the country, plastic waste is clogging the waterways leading to floods and destruction. Scientists have also found microplastics in the food we eat, the water we drink and even in human blood. While the overall effects are not yet known, microplastics are known to damage human cells; there are concerns they could affect immune functions,” the statement continues.

The environmental lobby group said the best remedy for the current crisis is to commit the biggest polluters and other stakeholders to step up and drive change by investing in alternative delivery channels and packaging that prioritise refill and reuse models.

Greenpeace Africa also wanted members of the Plastic Pact  to work towards achieving an effective legally-binding global plastics treaty to cap and reduce production, use and ultimately end single-use plastic pollution in coming years.

Kenya, just like many developing countries is facing an environmental crisis owing to an increase in plastic pollution that has threatened both land and marine life.

For instance, Nairobi alone generates about 3,207 tonnes of waste daily, according to the UN-Habitat.

Globally, plastic leakage to the environment is seen doubling to 44 million tonnes a year, while the build-up of plastics in lakes, rivers and oceans will more than triple, as plastic waste balloons from 460 million metric tonnes in 2019 million to 1,231 metric tonnes in 2060.

Most pollution comes from larger debris known as macro plastics, but leakage of microplastics (synthetic polymers less than 5 mm in diameter) from items like industrial plastic pellets, textiles and tyre wear has also been found to be of serious concern.

A Global Plastics Outlook Policy Scenarios to 2060 Report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), notes that without radical action to curb demand, increase product lifespans and improve waste management and recyclability, plastic pollution will rise in tandem with an almost threefold increase in plastics use driven by rising populations and incomes.

The report further estimates that almost two-thirds of plastic waste in 2060 will be from short-lived items such as packaging, low-cost products and textiles.

“If we want a world that is free of plastic pollution, in line with the ambitions of the United Nations Environment Assembly, we will need to take much more stringent and globally co-ordinated action,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann in the report released in February this year.

“This report proposes concrete policies that can be implemented along the lifecycle of plastics that could significantly curb – and even eliminate –

Courtesy; K.N.A