A top European Commission environment official is warning that it could be "very difficult" to finish the global plastics treaty this year, blaming differences over limits on plastics production and "delaying tactics" from some countries.
At a June 17 meeting of European Union environment ministers, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius cast doubt on the ability of diplomats to reach an agreement at the fifth and final planned session of the treaty's intergovernmental negotiating committee in South Korea in November, referred to as INC-5.
"At the current pace of negotiations, it will be very difficult to close the negotiations by INC-5 in November," Sinkevičius said.
"There are still some major remaining divergences such as on whether to limit production of primary plastic polymers, the legal nature of [the agreement], and provisions regarding chemicals of concern and avoidable plastic products," he said.
He urged European nations to step up their work, noting that there was some progress in moving the talks forward at the INC-4 meeting in Canada in late April. But he also cautioned that the talks have faced "delaying tactics by countries wanting to lower the ambition."
A June 12 background report prepared for the environment ministers said differences with a bloc of oil-producing nations in the treaty delayed progress within so-called contract groups, the internal working groups where diplomats hash over detailed language, at INC-4.
"Some members of the INC, mainly major oil producing countries, insisted on a first round of general discussions in the contact groups, which resulted in protracted discussions throughout the meeting and considerably delayed the progress of the negotiations," the report said.
Sinkevičius told ministers that the INC will have two formal meetings of experts in August, with one working on plastics design and chemicals of concern, and a second looking at financial mechanisms to fund the treaty.
Related to finance, the EU report said a proposal for a global plastics fee remained in discussions. It said a proposal from Ghana was considered at INC-4 "and is likely to be subject to further discussion."
Sinkevičius said the August expert meetings "may not be enough to secure a successful end of negotiations" and urged European countries to do more.
"We need to step efforts at all levels, including high-level political involvement in the run-up and at INC-5," he said. "Within the EU we also need to identify what are our must haves and red lines and develop a clear strategy to achieve the best possible outcome."
Luxembourg Minister of the Environment Serge Wilmes called for balancing compromise and seeking an ambitious treaty.
"It is indeed crucial to have an agreement by the end of the year," Wilmes said. "Of course, compromises will have to be reached but we need to ensure that the treaty is as robust and as ambitious as possible."
And a representative from the French environment ministry pointed to "significant progress" at INC-4 in Canada and said they hoped the August sessions can make progress on the two export group topics, financing and chemicals of concern and problematic plastic products.
The French representative also pointed to a June 14 communique from the G7 meeting in Italy, where leaders of the bloc of industrial democracies made a non-binding statement on reducing plastics production.
The G7 agreement said all the countries wanted to resolve the plastics treaty by the end of the year, and said that countries agreed to "as appropriate, reduce the global production and consumption of primary plastic polymers in the context of our actions throughout the full life cycle of plastic."