Plastic pollution: Treaty talks get into the nitty-gritty
by The Manila Times
May 31, 2023 12:37 am
COUNTRIES grappling with the 'immense' task of ending plastic pollution began a new round of talks in Paris on Monday, amid protests and warnings of the urgency to act.
Representatives of 175 nations with divergent ambitions met at the Unesco headquarters with the aim of making progress toward reaching by next year a historic agreement covering the entire plastics life cycle.
A pile of garbage, including plastic waste, is seen as children play on a bridge in downtown Manila on September 4, 2019. Negotiations on a global treaty to combat plastic pollution will resume on May 29, 2023, with nations under pressure to stem the tide of trash amid calls from campaigners to limit industry influence on the talks. Some 175 nations pledged last year to agree by 2024 a binding deal to end the pollution from largely fossil fuel-based plastics that is choking the environment and infiltrating the bodies of humans and animals. The May 29-June 2 talks in Paris are tasked with agreeing the first outline for actions that could form the basis of a draft negotiating text.
George Calvelo / AFP
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