Negotiations for an international treaty against plastic pollution will resume in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5 to 14 August, following the failure of the first negotiating session in Busan, South Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024. The latest draft compromise, submitted by Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Luis Vayas Valdivieso on 1 December, will serve as the starting point for resuming negotiations.
Supported by the EU, measures to reduce plastic polymer production and to ban and restrict chemicals of concern in plastic products were at the heart of the differences (see EUROPE 13536/14). As a result, the objective of “putting an end to plastic pollution“ no longer featured in the latest draft compromise.
The European Parliament supports the European Commission’s ambitious position, but MEP Sara Matthieu (Greens/EFA, Belgian) pointed out the irony of investments “in large plastics production plants [in Europe], such as the Ineos plant in Antwerp” (see EUROPE 13563/3).
It was at the site of BASF, the world’s largest chemicals group, that President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen signed the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal. More than 1,315 organisations have signed it.
The BASF Group has declared its opposition to introducing ceilings on plastics production and to the withdrawal of chemical products under the ‘Plastics Treaty’.
See BASF’s position: https://aeur.eu/f/fyl (Original version in French by Florent Servia)