UN Plastics Treaty negotiations open with calls for production reduction and fair finance

Historic negotiations for a UN treaty to address the plastic pollution crisis (INC-5) have just kicked off in Busan, South Korea. Hoped to be the final round of INC-5, this week will determine whether we finally have a just, people and planet-centred international agreement to end plastic pollution. Friends of the Earth International and other civil society groups are demanding a strong treaty that reflects the serious impacts of plastics on health, the need to reduce production, end the waste trade and the provision of finance for the Global South to implement action on the ground. Ahead of negotiations, hundreds of Friends of the Earth activists made these demands heard, organising 10 human signs around the world to call for a strong Plastics Treaty, including a 500-person sign in Busan yesterday. 

“Plastics containing harmful chemicals have found their way into our air, water and food. Our bodies and health are under attack. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to a variety of health problems, including hormonal imbalances, reproductive problems, developmental problems in children, and an increased risk of certain cancers. And yet, mention of health in the current draft is near absent. If people and the environment are actually intended to be at the centre of these negotiations, then the agreement must protect health.”

Gohar Khojayan
Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment / Friends of the Earth Armenia

“There’s no sense in a Treaty meant to address the accumulation of plastic that doesn’t cut it off at the source. The fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are well aware that real action on plastics is a threat to them. So the question decision makers need to ask themselves is whether corporate power matters more than the health of peoples and the environment. Recycling is not going to be what saves us. Reducing the production of plastics isn’t just an important part of the Treaty, it’s necessary to ending the plastics crisis.”

Rico Euripidou
groundWork / Friends of the Earth South Africa

For ambitious action on the Treaty, one that effectively cuts plastic pollution, funds need to be made available for the Global South. The Treaty needs to recognise the lasting impacts of waste colonialism and asymmetries of development when calling for implementation and compliance. This means finance from rich countries for the Global South through grants, not debt and loans. Pushing through other financial mechanisms that aren’t based on public finance would render these negotiations disingenuous, unjust and deeply limited in the scope of implementation.”

Bareesh Chowdhury
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association / Friends of the Earth Bangladesh

For ambitious action on the Treaty, one that effectively cuts plastic pollution, funds need to be made available for the Global South. The Treaty needs to recognise the lasting impacts of waste colonialism and asymmetries of development when calling for implementation and compliance. This means finance from rich countries for the Global South through grants, not debt and loans. Pushing through other financial mechanisms that aren’t based on public finance would render these negotiations disingenuous, unjust and deeply limited in the scope of implementation.”

Bareesh Chowdhury
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association / Friends of the Earth Bangladesh

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Media contact

Ghislaine Fandel // ghislaine@foei.org // Whatsapp/Signal +33 7 66 67 95 50 // @FoEint // in Busan 22-27 November // Remote 28 November – 1 December