The EU is open to changing its position in order to conclude an agreement on a global plastics treaty, with negotiations due to take place on 5-14 August in Geneva, Switzerland, and acknowledged that caps or targets on production of plastics are probably unlikely. The bloc has previously opposed signing a plastics treaty "at any cost".
A key stumbling bloc to the treaty has been Article 6 that could be drafted to set concrete limits on "unsustainable" production of primary plastic polymers and problematic chemicals. EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall is negotiating for the bloc, tasked at the start of her mandate in December 2024 with "striving" for an "ambitious" global plastics treaty.
"It is important not to have a treaty at any cost," Roswall said in June when 95 countries signed up to a call to achieve a global target to reduce "production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels" and a legally binding obligation to "phase out" problematic plastic products and component chemicals. The group included European, African, central American countries and island nations.
A senior EU official noted all sides "shifting positions" and "good conversations" with China over the plastics treaty. The willingness to shift positions follows failure to reach agreement in November 2024, in Busan, South Korea.
"We cannot stick to our original position," the EU official said, albeit noting determination to include "full life cycle" and "structural" solutions in the treaty, not just referencing waste management. Such solutions could include "recognition" for unsustainable production and consumption.
