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The Global Plastics Treaty and Brazil from Putnam’s Two-Level Game Theory: Converging on Divergences?
Summary
Brazil, one of the world's top sources of ocean plastic pollution, is playing a careful political game in global treaty talks: pushing hard for other countries to help fund and build up plastic waste management systems, while staying vague on whether it would actually support producing less plastic or restricting harmful chemicals in plastic products. This matters because weak or watered-down treaty terms could mean continued high levels of plastic waste and the microplastics and chemical additives that come with it, substances increasingly linked to health concerns like hormone disruption and inflammation, keep entering our water, food, and bodies with fewer real limits in place.
Impact StatementBrazil is among the largest contributors to plastic pollution leaks into the oceans but there are several challenges for the country to compromise on international regulation on the issue.During negotiations for a Global Plastic Treaty, Brazil's strategy reflected a central concern with the architecture of the treaty's implementation, seeking to proactively address the lack of capacity as the main barrier to compliance.The insistence on these terms highlights the attempt to build a robust bridge between global obligations and domestic capabilities, ensuring that the ambition of the agreement is not lost in its execution.Our analysis reveals a two-pronged strategy: one of encouraging popular mobilization through a strong social appeal, and another of structural negotiation focused on implementation capacity, leaving open the fundamental question whether the country would support measures towards reducing plastic production or chemicals controls on plastic.