A treaty to end plastic pollution is still far -reaching – this is not necessarily bad

The countries of the world have been on the brink of a global agreement to reduce plastic pollution for a few years so far. The delegates from 184 governments in Geneva gathered this month to try to produce a final treaty, but in the end, they moved away without a deal.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. The delegates were absent from the year 2024, which spanned this round of conversations. But there is no better deal than a bad deal, as environmental defenders say. The great defection was more than whether the treaty should be gradually eliminating the use of dangerous chemicals in manufacturing and setting restrictions on the amount of plastic that is already produced. Countries where plastic and fossil fuel are large businesses – including we and Russia It is preferable to focus only on waste management and recycling, which leads to Deadlock.

“We need to address uncomplicated plastic production,” said Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, a representative from Panama, during a press conference on Thursday before the negotiations ended. “We are not here to simply reach a deal. We are here to finish plastic pollution.”

The industry also faces increased heat for recycling as a solution. California File a lawsuit against Exxonmobil last year About what is called a “deception campaign” about plastic recycling. It is able to do so Less than 10 percent of plastic waste It was recycled before. The materials are difficult and expensive in reformulation, and even the recycled plastic products still need to be strengthened with newly made plastic.

Mohamed Kamal, an expert in waste management and executive director of the Egypt -based Greenish, who attended the talks in Geneva, says. “Recycling is a reaction to the generation of waste. It is not a preventive method,” says Kamal freedom. “You want to prevent yourself from infection. You will not want to be injured and then interact every time.”

A “High aspiration alliance“Of more than 70 countries, led by Norway and Rwanda, you want to go further by treating the entire life cycle, including restricting plastic production. Details have not been identified in the next round of negotiations yet, but it can take place later this year or next year.

“I feel more emotional than I was in previous negotiations,” says Joe Banner, who participated in the establishment of non -profit organizations. Ajdad project With her sister, all the Plastic Treaty negotiations attended to defend their community in Louisiana. It has been nicknamed “Cancer alley“Since it is considered a” front lines “community of the problem. There are about 200 industrial factories in the area associated with the production of petrochemicals and plastic materials. Air pollution in Louisiana was Associated with high cancer ratesEspecially in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of the black population and with high poverty rates. Banner says the treaty that does not pay any attention to the health risks caused by plastic production will not start helping its community to recover.

“We are ready to go without (a treaty) to get something that will continue to harm us,” she says. “I know that it might seem, in many ways, is failure. But in the end … people from the front lines were able to be at a global stage that interferes for their societies.”