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By Jack Graham [[link removed]] | Deputy Editor, Funded Projects

COP out

It's been a rough few months for international negotiators. The biodiversity COP16 in Cali, Colombia, ended without a deal, a climate denier regained the White House [[link removed]], and COP29 in Baku squeezed out a disappointing new climate finance goal [[link removed]]. Some poor souls represented their countries in both Colombia and Azerbaijan.

The events have set quite the stage for this week's talks on plastic pollution. Taking place in the South Korean city of Busan, it is the fifth and theoretically final stage of U.N. negotiations for a global treaty on plastic pollution - catchily named INC-5.

Everyone knows plastic is a problem, but the scale is staggering.

From marine life in the middle of the ocean to people living in cities, very few parts of the world are unaffected. Up to 1 million people [[link removed]] are estimated to die each year in developing nations because of diseases like diarrhoea and cancer related to plastics and other waste.

Thomson Reuters Foundation/Jack Graham

Host country South Korea's plastic waste generation more than doubled [[link removed]] from 5.8 million tonnes in 2014 to 12.6 million in 2022. Officially, 73% was "recycled" [[link removed]], but Greenpeace says that figure is 27%. Around the world, only 9% of plastic waste [[link removed]] is recycled.

So, what should countries do? The good news is that lots of the policies to reduce plastic pollution are well-known. But deciding who should take responsibility, and how, is another question.

Paying for plastic

It doesn't take a genius to know that a major solution for plastic pollution is to produce less of the stuff. Producing plastic not only leads to pollution, but causes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. [[link removed]]

Getting the backing of major petrochemical-producing countries like Saudi Arabia and China [[link removed]] could be a major sticking point. The United States has backed caps on plastic production [[link removed]], but that could change after Donald Trump becomes president in January.

Climate activists march on a street to demand stronger global commitments to fight plastic waste at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), in Busan, South Korea, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Minwoo Park

Another issue at stake is how to hold companies to account. As my colleague Mariejo Ramos reported in the Philippines [[link removed]], a growing number of nations in Southeast Asia are imposing rules on extended producer responsibility (EPR) which hold firms accountable for their plastic's entire lifecycle.

The latest draft, which 175 countries will be wrangling over in Busan, includes a levy on plastic producers to help meet the costs of ending plastic pollution, as well as a call for governments to introduce EPR schemes.

How much bite the final treaty has, and whether it gets over the line, remains to be seen.

See you next week,

Jack

This week's top picks Reporter's Notebook: Witnessing anger, fear at COP29 finance deal [[link removed]]

As Global South nations lament the new climate finance goal, our climate correspondent's notes show the writing was on the wall

What are carbon credits and how do they work? [[link removed]]

COP29 agreed on carbon market rules, but can controversial credits help protect nature and the climate?

In Data: Breathing in Delhi is like smoking how many cigarettes? [[link removed]]

Research shows breathing in Delhi's air pollution is like smoking more than a pack of cigarettes a day

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