UN Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks Begin in South Korea

Negotiations for a global plastic pollution treaty kicked off in Busan, South Korea, on Monday, with discussions set to continue until December 1.

The talks are part of the final round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, which aims to draft the first-ever legally binding United Nations treaty on reducing plastic waste. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)reports that global plastic waste more than doubled from 2000 to 2019, reaching 353 million tons annually.

The European Union and several African nations advocate for global production standards, while some countries with large plastic production industries prefer more flexible, country-specific approaches. The treaty also aims to address measures to prevent plastic from entering the environment.