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Towards a global plastics treaty: Navigating policy preferences and economic interests
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Countries are negotiating a global treaty to fight plastic pollution, but this study finds a split: some nations want to limit plastic production itself, while others, often those with plastic manufacturing industries, prefer focusing only on waste cleanup. If cleanup-only approaches win out, plastic production keeps growing, meaning more plastic and microplastics entering our food, water, and bodies over time.
At the fifth session of the United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly in March 2022, UN member states were mandated to negotiate an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. This article assesses pre-session submissions from the second and third negotiation rounds to identify proposed measures and priorities for the treaty. The analysis, employing systematic qualitative content analysis, focuses on the comprehensiveness of submissions, variations in proposed measures across the plastics value chain and political-economic factors influencing state positions. Results reveal a divergence between ambitious clusters advocating for upstream regulatory measures and less ambitious clusters emphasising downstream waste management. As negotiations progress, countries with vested interests in plastic production are likely to defend their economic positions by advocating for a treaty limited to downstream solutions. This approach risks diluting the treaty’s impact by failing to address production levels, potentially undermining the overarching goal of ending plastic pollution.
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Towards a global plastics treaty: Navigating policy preferences and economic interests
AI summary Read the abstract
This study analyzed pre-session submissions from the second and third rounds of UN global plastics treaty negotiations using systematic qualitative content analysis, identifying a clear divergence between ambitious clusters advocating for upstream production controls and less ambitious clusters focusing on downstream waste management. The analysis predicted that countries with vested interests in plastic production would defend economic positions by limiting the treaty to downstream solutions, potentially undermining the goal of ending plastic pollution.
From total volume control to governance logic: a legal review and institutional solution for the production cap rules in global plastics agreements
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Countries negotiating a global plastics treaty are stuck arguing over whether to cap how much new plastic gets made, since plastic production is a major source of the microplastics and chemicals linked to health problems. This legal analysis suggests a strict global cap won't work politically, and instead proposes sorting plastics by risk level and assigning different rules to different countries, a compromise that could actually get adopted and start reducing plastic pollution sooner.
Transforming the Global Plastics Economy: The Role of Economic Policies in the Global Governance of Plastic Pollution
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This paper argues that addressing plastic pollution requires looking beyond waste management and marine cleanup to tackle the problem at its source, across the entire plastics life cycle including production, trade, and consumption. The authors trace how international policy discussions have evolved from voluntary approaches to regulatory frameworks, with over 100 governments calling for a new global plastics agreement. The research highlights the need for economic policies that address upstream production alongside downstream pollution.
We need a global agreement to safeguard human health from plastic pollution
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This commentary argues that unresolved disagreements among member states are hindering progress toward a UN global plastics treaty that could protect human and environmental health. The authors call for resolution of key disputes to advance international governance of plastic pollution across the full lifecycle.
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This review analyzed 39 peer-reviewed studies on public perceptions of plastic pollution, finding that research discourse is narrowly focused on marine impacts and single-use plastics while largely ignoring broader plastic pollution contexts relevant to international treaty negotiations.
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