Civil society organisations say, “no treaty is better than a bad treaty”, as United Nations plastic treaty talks hit a roadblock.
- NGOs applaud UN member states who refused to accept a toothless plastics treaty.
- Despite being the foot soldiers of climate action, some NGOs felt sidelined in Geneva, as talks seemingly favoured plastic lobbyists.
- Civil society groups say they will persevere, despite the structural challenges they face.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are standing behind the member states that rejected the plastics treaty being negotiated at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland on August 14. The treaty had been debated for 12 days before a deadlock collapsed this round of talks.
The treaty process was initiated in 2022 to establish a legally binding agreement on the full lifecycle of plastic products. Per a draft, this agreement would address public health, emissions, mandatory finance obligations, production limits, and other considerations.
Last week’s talks had intended to be the final set of negotiations.
According to a statement by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), an international coalition of NGOs fighting for a zero-waste world, some of the NGO observers were unhappy that chairperson of the negotiating committee, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, allegedly allowed fossil fuel and petrochemical lobbyists to dominate the talks.
GAIA also claimed that civil society groups, waste pickers, scientists, and youth leaders were denied access to small group and special plenary meetings due to space restraints, even though they had all registered to attend.
“It felt almost like there were hidden agendas at play,” said Merissa Naidoo, GAIA Africa Plastics Program Manager. “It seems like the chair and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have failed to set the table for an equitable and effective negotiation.”
Corporate lobbyists also used underhanded tactics to boost their influence during the talks.
“Some of these petrochemical industries are part of the country delegations. Most of the governments who include them are either producers of plastics or oil,” said Hellen Dena, Project Lead for Pan-African Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa, one of the NGOs that was present in Geneva. “When you’re part of a delegation, you have access to all the meetings and the other delegations, so they can influence as much as they want.”
Plastic treaty negotiations are at an impasse, with no consensus reached since the treaty process was initiated in 2022. Graphic: Mbali Khumalo
The way forward on the treaty negotiations is unclear. Still, NGOs continue to fight against being sidelined in the tug-of-war between climate-conscious countries and profit-driven corporations.
For Dena, the fight for a robust treaty is about more than just pollution. “The plastic pollution crisis is not just an environmental crisis. It’s also a human health crisis. People on the frontlines, scientists, have found microplastics in blood, air, even human placentas. This is about people as well as the planet,” she said.
“It is a win that we didn’t come out with a weak treaty and that civil society put up a lot of pressure. Now we’ll get another chance to get it right.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Climate activists protest at the UN plastics treaty talks, which reached a deadlock on August 15. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP.
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