<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/12/countries-meeting-nairobi-kenya-global-plastic-pollution-treaty>
"Government delegations will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to hammer out details of
what could be the first global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.
A key focus for the discussions on Monday will be whether targets to restrict
plastic production should be decided unilaterally or whether states should
choose their own targets; this is, say environmentalists, the “centre of
gravity” for the treaty’s ambition.
At the last round of negotiations in Paris in May run by the international
negotiating committee (INC) the US, Saudi Arabia, India and China favoured a
“Paris-style” agreement where states would have the freedom to determine their
own commitments, while others, including Africa and many developing countries,
preferred strong global commitments.
But there are signs, some observers say, of a shift in the US’s position on
this key issue, though details have yet to emerge. “The main takeaway for many
environmental groups, after INC2 [the negotiations in Paris], was how bad the
US position was, in terms of Paris-style voluntary commitments,” said Graham
Forbes, the global plastics campaign lead for Greenpeace USA. He said there had
been signals of a shift.
“We are going to be watching very closely to see how that plays out. We need to
be speaking about rules and putting in place regulations.”
Last month, a “zero draft” version of the text published by the INC as the
basis of negotiations over what the head of the United Nations Environment
Programme has described as the most important multilateral treaty since the
Paris accord in 2015. The goal is to have a formal treaty in place by the end
of 2024. This third round of talks, in Kenya from 13-17 November, will mark the
halfway point."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
