At the end of October, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for the ‘Plastics Treaty’ published the third version of a non-paper which is to serve as a working basis for the negotiations in Busan, South Korea, from 25 November to 1 December.
In the third version, the Chair of the INC, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, puts forward proposals to the stakeholders. In his first version, sent on 24 September, the Ecuadorian was already trying to “simplify” in order to ensure that an agreement could be reached in Busan (see EUROPE 13500/12).
The treaty should both “protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of plastic pollution” and “end plastic pollution”, the two objectives being “complementary”, argues Luis Vayas Valdivieso, who reduces the second to an “ambition”.
In the latest version of the non-paper, the INC Chair has drafted proposed Articles for a future ‘Plastics Treaty’, refraining from doing so on the most sensitive measures, relating to plastics production, the list of products to be banned and financing.
With some stakeholders fearing an “anti-plastic treaty”, the Ecuadorian suggests in Article 6 that the parties “cooperate to achieve a global objective of sustainable levels of production”, but refrains from quantifying this target. He also suggests drawing up production reports. In Article 3, he proposes to draw up an initial list of dangerous products and substances to be banned immediately following the Busan agreement, but taking into account the different “legal and administrative structures or national circumstances”, as some stakeholders - such as the EU - have already banned products.
Less problematic, the management of plastic waste (Article 8) and measures to mitigate existing plastic pollution (Article 9) are the subject of proposals for texts that have already been drafted. Because health protection will be one of the main objectives of the treaty, Luis Vayas Valdivieso devotes an Article to it, in which he raises the possibility of consulting the World Health Organization in the future.
If adopted in Busan, the treaty could be implemented through national plans, drawn up “based on national needs, circumstances and capabilities” of the parties involved. Here again, the Chair of the INC does not set targets. The non-paper does not include a deadline.
See the document: https://aeur.eu/f/e6b (Original version in French by Florent Servia)