It will be difficult for Asian countries to agree on their desired outcomes of a legally binding treaty to curb global plastics pollution, say observers.
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The United National Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the extended session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) meeting, after leaders failed to agree on the treaty rules in what was supposed to have been the final talks in Busan, South Korea in December. The next round of talks are in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5 to 14 August.
“Culturally, and in terms of what they depend on for their economic growth, it is very different across the region. Unfortunately, we do not have a forum where everyone can decide what our priorities are,” said Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager of India-based research organisation Centre for Science & Environment at a press briefing.
Under UNEP, negotiators from Asia Pacific encompass diverse groups from across the region, which ranges from Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, to Southeast Asia nations including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The positions of South Korea, Japan and the Pacific Small Island developing states also have to be taken into consideration.
Such diversity does not exist in other regions, like Europe or Latin America, where alignment is easier, said Singh.
“If you look at the life cycle of plastics, [Asia] is a player at every juncture. [This is why] I would say Asia has to be the region that should be the most concerned about this [plastics] issue,” he added.
China and Japan are some of the world’s biggest plastic producers, while the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are on the receiving end of the plastic trade as they have some of the region’s leakiest waste management systems, he said.
Southeast Asia, for its part, is one group resisting plastics reduction because the region’s petrochemicals industries are among the fastest growing in the world, said Punyathorn Jeungsmarn, plastics campaign researcher at Environmental Justice Foundation at the same briefing.
However, Thailand is the only one in the Southeast Asian bloc advocating for plastics reduction because its petrochemical industry is more mature than others like Indonesia or Vietnam, said Jeungsmarn. Petrochemicals demand is driven by the production of plastics.
Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, threatening oceans, wildlife, human health, and economies worldwide. Plastics account for 85 per cent of marine waste and microplastics are now found in food and the human body.
In response to rising public pressure and scientific warnings, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in March 2022 agreed to begin negotiations for an international treaty focused on tackling the full lifecycle of plastic pollution.
The INC was established to draft the treaty with the aim of concluding negotiations by the end of 2024, although talks have now extended into 2025 due to ongoing disagreements.
Led by the European Union, African and Caribbean nations, and some Pacific and Latin American countries, the High Ambition Coalition is pushing for mandatory, global caps on plastic production, strict bans on hazardous chemicals in plastics, and phased reductions that address the entire plastic life cycle.
However, countries with large oil and petrochemical industries like Saudi Arabia and some Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore insist that the treaty should restrict itself to improving downstream waste management and recycling. Known as the Like-Minded Group, they reject binding commitments to reduce or cap plastic production, arguing that such measures would threaten their economies.
Meanwhile, the Philippines and Thailand are pushing for legally binding limits on all stages of plastics production and stronger action on the chemicals used in plastics.
China to agree to plastics reduction?
China’s position in the global plastics treaty negotiations has been cautious, but INC-5.2 is expected to be a place for them to show their cards, said C. Semee Rhee, global policy advisor of nonprofit Break Free From Plastic, at the same briefing.
China, which is responsible for more than 30 per cent of global plastic materials production, has not explicitly stated that they are part of the Like-Minded Group.
A “considerable shift” has been observed in China’s position at the last negotiations, compared to previous treaty talks, said Singh.
“There are signs that China is willing to come to the table and talk. They do understand that there is a need for flexibility and they are engaging in a lot of bilateral as well as multilateral engagements, which invites to the fact that they really want a treaty that is workable,” he said.
At the Busan talks, China showed openness to primary plastic polymer regulations, unlike some oil-producing countries like Russia that rejected any form of production limits outright.
While not explicitly aligning with the high-ambition countries demanding binding caps on plastic production, China indicated it could accept certain regulatory mechanisms for polymers, as long as these aligned with “pragmatic and balanced” approaches.
In its resolution at the last session, China sought clarity on which polymers fall under regulation, emphasising that polymers can have multiple uses, some of which may be “problematic” depending on application. Problematic uses should be regulated as part of specific plastic products rather than broadly, it said.
