Environmental groups are sounding the alarm about a sharp rise in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at UN pollution talks taking place this week.
Delegates from 175 nation states are in Ottawa to craft a binding global treaty to reduce the amount of plastic pollution overflowing into landfills, spilling into oceans and washing up on shores.
Almost 5,000 people participate in the summit.
According to the analysis of Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 196 lobbyists working for oil, gas and chemical companies are registered as observers for this round of negotiations. CIEL says this is a 37 percent increase from the previous round of talks held in Kenya and that there may be more lobbyists participating in the negotiations who are part of state delegations.
“It is worrying that industry and those responsible for pollution are part of the negotiations and influence the outcome of these talks,” says Suzanne Smoke of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.
Most plastic is made from fossil fuels and some of the chemicals used in the process are toxic.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 430 million tons of plastic are produced each year.
While most countries agree that plastic pollution needs to end, there is disagreement over how to get there and how long it should take.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault leaves a news conference Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Bethanie Carney-Almroth, professor of ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg, says lobbyists are actively blocking progress on plastic waste.
“What we found are techniques commonly used by industry and actors with conflicts of interest to delay and block political action. “This includes providing misinformation or misrepresenting science, cherry-picking data and producing false experts… and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the impacts of plastics on the environment,” said Carney-Almroth, one of 58 scientists who observed the negotiations in Ottawa.
Environmental groups say the treaty should include a limit on plastic production, as well as a ban on the most toxic chemicals in plastics.
Greenpeace International calls for a 75 percent reduction in global plastic production by 2040.
Graham Forbes, leader of Greenpeace’s Global Plastics Campaign, says the fossil fuel industry is investing “hundreds of billions of dollars” in new petrochemical plants to produce plastics for generations to come.
“We are clearly at unsustainable levels now and they are investing all their money in plans to make the problem worse,” Forbes said.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents plastics manufacturers, says it is against a production limit.
“We believe in ending plastic pollution, not addressing plastic production,” said ACC chief lobbyist Ross Eisenberg.
Eisenberg says the ACC is against stopping the production of single-use plastics, such as food and beverage containers, which account for more than half of plastic waste. Instead, the ACC supports helping all nations with their recycling efforts and designing better products that can be reused and recycled more efficiently.
“It’s called ‘advanced recycling’ or ‘chemical recycling.’ “This is a technology that will make all those single-use plastics infinitely recyclable,” Eisenberg said.
Canada is one of 60 countries supporting the elimination of non-essential single-use plastics by 2040. Canada is also a major producer of fossil fuels, ranking as the 15th largest producer of plastics in the world, according to Environmental Defense Canada. .
As host of this round of UN talks, Canada is under pressure from environmental groups to take a leading role in introducing a strong treaty to reduce plastic pollution.