According to the United Nations, plastic production skyrocketed from 2 million tons in 1950 to approx 400 million by 2024. This number is expected to triple by 2060. Currently only 10% of this plastic is recycled and reused. The remainder will remain in our environment for centuries, polluting the planet, from oceans to mountains, contaminating the food chain and the human body, where it risks causing harm. for our organs and brains.
In 2025, we will begin to end plastic pollution. Since 2022, policymakers at the United Nations, representing more than 170 countries, have been negotiating a legally binding agreement. Global Plastics Pact addresses the entire life cycle of plastics, from design, production to disposal. This treaty shares many of the existing mechanisms in Montreal Protocol 1987this eventually leads to the phasing out of CFCs, chemicals that cause ozone depletion. As such, it can succeed, despite opposition.
The treaty is expected to be finalized by its fifth and final session in Busan, South Korea at the end of November 2024. So far, perhaps unsurprisingly, The negotiations have been polarized. At the time of writing, the draft treaty includes two options for its overall goal: the first, more ambitious option, aims to “end plastic pollution”; On the other hand, the second goal is aimed at “protecting human health and the environment from plastic pollution”.
The first option is covered by a group of countries that are members of The Alliance has high ambitions to end plastic pollutionled by the Nordics but also including countries such as Rwanda and Peru. The latter option is favored by major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, who want to steer the focus of discussions towards plastic recycling and waste management rather than plastic production. In August 2024, the United States, also a major producer of plastics and oil, announced a surprising policy change by now also pledging to support limits on plastic production. Given the level of American influence, this new position will affect the treaty.
Agreeing to the first option would put us on a path very similar to that pursued by the Montreal Protocol. While it is unlikely at this point that the treaty will set specific binding targets for phasing out plastic production, there is no denying it will set an ambitious goal of ending plastic pollution . On the other hand, the second option (“protecting human health and the environment”) is an extremely vague goal, in part because we really don’t know for sure what the threshold for human health impacts is. much and may not be known exactly. long time ago.
Either way, these two options are a step forward: both provide the necessary impetus for the plastics industry to develop better technologies. For example, option one would inspire companies to develop alternatives such as biodegradable and compostable materials designed to replace plastics (especially single-use plastics). times such as shopping bags and plastic packaging, which account for 35% of plastic use today). The second option would likely push industry to develop more effective ways to reduce waste streams, such as improving recycling processes.
Directing this technology is perhaps the most important aspect of the treaty. For example, the original Montreal Protocol of 1987 set very conservative tapering targets for reducing CFC production: 20% by 1994 and then 50% by 1998. At the time, these targets were This target is considered too slow compared to requirements. to solve the problem. Importantly, however, the protocol also explicitly states that such targets will be reviewed as new scientific and alternative technologies become available. This puts pressure on the industry to develop technological solutions as companies compete to develop better products. Ultimately, those alternatives—like hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs) that can be used in refrigeration while having less impact on the ozone layer—have grown much faster than expected, to the point that just three years later , countries met again to agree to gradually phase out the gas. Complete use of CFCs by 2000.
In 2025, the Global Plastics Pact will send a clear message to the plastics industry that it must change the way it does business. That will be the beginning of the end of plastic.
