After the first days of discussions, international negotiations on plastic in Busan, South Korea, are slipping due to opposition from oil-producing countries who do not wish to reduce plastic production targeted by the treaty. The delegations are annoyed, but do not lose hope for the rest of the week.
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With our correspondent in Busan, Celio Fioretti
In the plenary session of this conference, the tension is palpable. The already tired faces are exasperated by the delays caused by the opposition to the text from the oil-producing countries.
Inger Andersen, director of the United Nations environment program, calls for speeding up the discussion: “ Good things have happened of course, but it is very clear that if we continue at this speed we will not reach our goal. This has been clearly repeated many times and the Presidency is calling for an increase in pace, it is very clear that this is what we need at the moment, because the clock does not stop ticking. »
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Main point of disagreement between supporters of a strong text against plastic and producing countries like Saudi Arabia or the China : the proposed reduction in plastic production. The latter want to focus on recycling efforts and not limit production.
Oil lobbies at work
Some of the delegations are annoyed by the influence of oil lobbies to slow down the writing of the text. Delphine Lévi Alvares, of the International Center for Environmental Law, observes the strategy of these lobbies in Busan: “ It is a strategy which consists of slowing down the negotiations by taking a lot of time to discuss things which are not necessarily as interesting as the operational measures which can make it possible to meet the objective of the mandate which is to end plastic pollution. »
A systematic blockage which worries about the chances of reaching an agreement at the close of this conference on Sunday. “ The fact that there will be an ambitious text by the end of the week, by the end of the negotiations, on which everyone agrees, is unlikely. So. This does not mean that there will not be a text, it does not mean that there will not be a certain number of agreements », analyzes Delphine Lévi Alvares.
Until then, negotiations continue, with the hope of speeding up the process for this weekend.
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