The United Nations (UN) negotiating process will need to be bypassed for a treaty on plastics to be achieved, experts say.
In an editorial co-authored by Dr Jen Iris Allan of Cardiff University and Professor Peter Dauvergne of the University of British Columbia, they argue that today's geopolitics, "has turned the commendable goal of consensus into a tool for obstruction, delay, and inaction by states and industries profiting from rising plastic production."
The article in the journal Science says a bloc of oil-producing states with powerful petrochemical interests— including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Kuwait—is distorting scientific findings and opposing any controls on new plastics, almost all of which are derived from petrochemicals.
The United States under President Trump, it adds, has aligned with these petrostates, enhancing the bloc's power. The majority of states in Geneva refused to placate these petrostates and fossil fuel interests.
While the academics admit preventing a weak treaty was a victory for those advocating strong, binding measures, they emphasis that the only way forward for countries committed to securing a treaty is for a new process outside the UN framework to be launched.
Time is running out to take positive action on plastic pollution. Despite protracted negotiations, it has been impossible to secure lasting change on one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.
Dr Allan, an expert in international relations at Cardiff University's School of Law and Politics, said: "Many of our environmental treaties were negotiated during peaceful times, after the Cold War. The current, uncertain political times requires innovative thinking about global cooperation. That might mean stepping out from the UN.
"The failure to negotiate a global forests convention since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit serves as a warning for this latest crisis. Consultations can remain mired for decades in debates over definitions, scope, and procedures. A coalition of willing states can, and should, quickly launch an alternative negotiating process for the global plastics treaty.
"While it's certainly not the best outcome to adopt a plastics treaty without the support of all states, spending years at the negotiating table is not an option either. A treaty formulated by an ambitious set of forward thinking countries could prove to be the start of a gradual shift for companies with financial interests in those markets and in turn, for the countries that are currently holding back on an agreement."
The academics point out world leaders will be attending the UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil, in November. They say an invitation-only, small-group gathering on the sidelines could generate political will to initiate new talks. From there, environment ministers and negotiators could move forward to work on the broader parameters and finer details, respectively.
Ministers and negotiators from more ambitious countries are already in regular contact and understand each other's positions. This bodes well for the mutual trust and understanding that successful talks require, which is lacking at the UN-convened negotiations.
The editorial article, UN politics won't deliver an ambitious plastics treaty, is published in the journal Science and is available to view here.
