A fifth and final round of UN committee negotiations opens Monday in Busan, South Korea. A strong text must necessarily endorse the reduction in plastic production on a global scale, according to the “coalition of high ambition”, of which France is a part.
Will the international community manage to come to an agreement to fight against plastic pollution? The question arises as a fifth and final round of discussions opens in Busan, South Korea, Monday November 25. On the occasion of this event which brings together 175 countries, franceinfo presents the challenges of this final session of the UN committee dedicated to this issue. The challenge ahead is significant: plastics represent such a threat to the environment, biodiversity and human health that researchers consider that the “planetary limit” relating to plastic and chemical pollution will have been exceeded in 2022.
Two camps oppose each other: one to slow down production, the other to continue it
Two camps are emerging. On the one hand, the countries which want a final, legally binding text, with clear and strict wording on the reduction of plastic production on a global scale. On the other hand, a large part of the oil-producing countries, which prefer less restrictive objectives and a certain vagueness allowing them to produce more plastics.
France is part of the “coalition of high ambition”. Behind this name, we find a grouping of countries working to put an end to plastic pollution by 2040, explained the Ministry of Ecology in May 2023. This coalition has grown over the months, from 25 countries at around fifty, to now number around 75, estimates MoDem deputy Philippe Bolo, member of the French delegation, with franceinfo. Alongside France, we find in this group co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda countries such as Germany, Senegal and Peru. All also have objectives for the rational use of plastics, the reduction of problematic chemicals or the polluter pays principle, as presented by the State Secretariat for the Sea.
On the other hand, oil-producing countries and oil companies see plastic as a means of reconversion. Because if fossil fuels and internal combustion engines in vehicles are being called into question and likely to lose ground to electricity, plastics are on the rise. Around 460 million tonnes are produced worldwide today, twice as much as twenty years ago. And production is likely to triple by 2060, according to OECD projections. Oil multinationals are already investing tens of billions of dollars in this direction in the United States. Among the states which support this production are those in the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia, but also Russia, India, Iran and Brazil.
Oil-exporting countries push for improved plastics processing
Countries that want to reduce plastics production face intensive lobbying from oil exporters and companies in the sector. The latter's argument minimizes the impact of production and emphasizes the entire life cycle of plastics, in particular improving collection and recycling. In reality, the nations that want an ambitious text share a vision that already encompasses this approach. Sylvie Lemmet, Ambassador for the Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained, from 2022, the line of thought of the “coalition of high ambition”, with the principle of “3R: reduce, reuse, recycle”.
Currently, only 9% of plastics put into circulation end up recycled, according to the OECD. In this context, centrist MP Philippe Bolo, member of the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices, considers it insufficient to promote the processing of plastics without reducing their production. Especially since France is behind in processing its plastic waste, and has paid 1.5 billion euros in fines to the European Union for this reason in 2023. “Even in a country like France, where waste management is well implemented, we encounter issues of pollution linked to plastics. So for countries that do not have the infrastructure that we can have, it is even more problematic”underlines the elected representative of Maine-et-Loire.
A strong text must mention a drop in production, according to France and its allies
The most important measure must concern the reduction of plastic production, several scientists who are part of the French delegation in Busan agree to franceinfo. “The world, nature, humans, and even our financial systems will not be able to absorb the expected increase in plastic production, which, in reality, is a wall”warns Fabienne Lagarde, researcher in marine ecotoxicology at the CNRS. “All the models show that we will not be able to limit plastic pollution in the environment if we do not reduce production”confirms Marie-France Dignac, researcher atNational Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE).
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the Minister of Ecological Transition, summarized France's position at the end of October, on the sidelines of the COP16 biodiversity in Colombia: “The use of plastic, if we do nothing, will triple by 2060: you don't need to have done many scientific studies to understand that, even by becoming champions of recycling and waste collection, we will not crack the problem of plastic pollution if we do not reduce the use and production of virgin plastic.”
Agreement on a text is uncertain
The signals in favor of an ambitious text are hardly encouraging. While the first session of negotiations took place in November 2022, the director of the United Nations Environment Program, Inger Andersen, suggested at the end of September that the positions of each party were still distant. Even if“there are some areas where I think we are starting to see convergence”she slipped on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, almost two years after the start of the discussions.
The objective of reducing plastic production risks being abandoned. “The production aspect will be difficult to integrate into the treatyrecognized to franceinfo Marie-France Dignac, from INRAE, in October. It was put aside in the intersessional discussions because it was too blocking for certain countries, which others regretted.” Strong uncertainty still reigned a few days before the opening of the Busan round. A 70-page text was shared at the end of October with stakeholders by Ecuadorian diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, president of the UN negotiating committee. But this document, which must serve as a basis for negotiations for this last session, convinces neither France nor its partners.
“We were disappointed by this paper. It does not mention the necessary reduction in production”recognizes the entourage of the Minister of Ecological Transition. This draft evokes the “production durable”an expression deemed too imprecise by Paris. “The French delegation will fight in Busan to obtain a mention of the reduction, if possible quantified. And if this is not possible, at least the principle of a reduction”assures the minister's entourage. Anticipating negotiations “difficult”this source does not rule out the possibility that the countries leave Busan without an agreement.
“We do not at all refrain from refusing an agreement which would not be ambitious enough on the reduction of production, which is a strong priority for France.”
The entourage of the Minister of Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacherat franceinfo
“Maybe the word 'reduction' can be scary”concedes researcher Fabienne Lagarde, maintaining that it is however necessary to “mark a turning point in this continued increase” of plastics production. On the side of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, we are displaying its firmness. If the “creativity” around language can be requested during international negotiations, it also has its “limits”we thunder. A few weeks ago, observers anticipated a possible additional session of discussions. This scenario remains plausible.
