Momentum growing for a plastics treaty with binding global rules, as Japan joins the High Ambition Coalition
PARIS, 28 MAY 2023 : “I have great expectations, let us make sure they are fulfilled”, remarked a buoyant Espen Barth Eide, the Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway, as he presented the joint ministerial statement of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC) on Friday, alongside Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Environment of Rwanda.
The statement, unveiled during a “High Ambition briefing” at the Climate Academy in Paris ahead of the second round of negotiations for a treaty on plastic pollution, calls for the adoption of a range of “common legally binding obligations and control measures” to put an end to plastic pollution, including measures to “restrict and reduce” plastic production and to eliminate “unnecessary, avoidable, or problematic” plastic products, polymers, and chemical constituents.
After the initial round of treaty negotiations concluded in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in December last year without agreement on “matters of substance”, the ministerial statement raises the bar for the second round of negotiations, set to commence at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 29 May. The statement has garnered endorsements from members of the High Ambition Coalition, a cross-regional group of more than 50 countries aiming to “end plastic pollution by 2040”, indicating growing support for a treaty with specific, binding and globally applicable obligations to tackle the plastic crisis.
In a surprise move, the Japanese Ambassador for Global Issues, Takeshi Akahori, announced Japan’s support for the statement. “Japan is pleased to attend this event today in Paris, as a new member of the High Ambition Coalition” Mr. Akahori said, eliciting an enthusiastic and sustained applause from the audience. Mr Akahori, himself, appeared rather perplexed at the overwhelming response.
Japan’s endorsement of a plastics treaty with binding, global rules is significant. Ever since the proposal for a plastics treaty was made at the first meeting of the “expert group on marine litter and microplastics” in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2018, Japan — a major producer and consumer of plastic products — has questioned the need for a common set of legal obligations to address the issue. During the first round of negotiations in Uruguay, Japan emphasised the benefits of plastics and stated that “one-size-fits-all restrictions on the production or use of plastic may not work for all countries”.
For plastics industry actors and countries favouring a “bottom-up” treaty based on country-driven approaches, Japan’s endorsement of “common legally binding obligations and control measures” will likely have set off some alarms. Perhaps worried that the rapidly growing support for a treaty with binding, global rules could create an A-team and a B-team in the negotiations, the United States Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Jose W. Fernandez, stressed the need for “an agreement that is inclusive, an agreement where every one of us is at the table, overcoming our differences”.
Plastics industry actors and countries uncomfortable with the direction of the negotiations may put up a fight when the second round of treaty negotiations start on Monday. The procedural issues left unresolved in Uruguay, including the adoption of the rules of procedure and the election of the bureau, provide aspiring spoilers with several opportunities to stall and delay progress in the negotiations.
How aggressively these countries will exploit these opportunities remains to be seen.
By Magnus Løvold and Torbjørn Graff Hugo, Norwegian Academy of International Law (NAIL). Follow our reporting from the Plastics Treaty negotiations on Points of Order.
