Members of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty continue to advocate for global regulations to tackle plastic pollution.
After last week’s failed negotiations in Geneva, they stated that ’efforts based solely on goodwill will not suffice’ and urged governments to consider ’all options’ in order to reach an agreement “based on harmonised regulations across the full lifecycle of plastics”.
Established in 2022 through an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, the Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty unites more than 300 companies throughout the plastics value chain, including Aptar Group, Beiersdorf, Berry, Clarins, Colgate Palmolive, Henkel, L’Oréal, L’Occitane, The Estée Lauder Companies, Unilever, Nature Works, among others
While being disappointed by “the lack of consensus among nations” that “further delays critical action to tackle plastic pollution and capture the economic benefits that effective harmonised regulation would bring”, the Coalition said in a media release on August 15, that “increased clarity” has been achieved through three years of negotiations.
While more than a hundred countries have agreed on regulations that would include the phasing out of certain substances, requirements on product design and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a minority remains fiercely opposed to any requirement relating to production.
The likelihood of reaching an agreement that would provide clear opportunities “to further mobilise investment and scale solutions to address plastic pollution” remains uncertain.
