Frustrated by collapse of plastic talks

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners in Henley have voiced their disappointment after talks at the United Nations on a treaty to end plastic pollution last week ended without a deal.

The discussions held in Geneva sought to reach an agreement to end the exponential growth of plastic pollution globally, but collapsed last Friday as countries remained divided on sticking points including how and whether to regulate plastic products globally and how binding measures should be.

It is understood that a group of oil-producing countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia blocked negotiations by protesting against measures that would reduce plastic production.

This round of negotiations on the treaty was the sixth and final hosted by the UN between 190 countries since 2022, with no date yet agreed to for future negotiations.

Chair of the negotiating committee, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, said the talks were adjourned rather than ended, with countries having expressed a desire to revisit discussions in the future.

Some have called for the exclusion of petrostates from negotiations, while others suggested the treaty be put to a vote rather than the current consensus-based approach which seeks to bring all countries on board.

Jeremy Gaunt, president of Henley Rotary Club which runs End Plastic Soup, a global initiative to tackle plastic pollution, said that the breadth of subject matter on the table will make it difficult for all countries to agree.

He said such discussions tend to go on and “become more successful in increments”.

He said: “It’s not terribly surprising that they haven’t achieved what they set out to do, because it is a huge thing. It’s raised awareness and some countries will go off on their own.”

Mr Gaunt, who covered the 1992 UN earth summit in Rio de Janeiro as a journalist for Reuters, said action on the macro level could be difficult, with attempts to reach consensus on climate change and biodiversity having faced similar challenges.

He said: “There are two ways to look at it. One is at a micro level which is the sorts of things that, for example, we here in Henley can do, which is to go to shops like the Willow Basket and get refills and not use plastic containers and throw them away, and not to buy bottled water unless it’s in glass.

“On a more macro level it’s up to countries to recognise the dangers of plastic going into rivers and getting into the food streams and then trying to do something about it.

“Unfortunately, it does require agreement but it’s very, very difficult to get big international agreements — just take a look at climate change and biodiversity for example, they haven’t stopped the problem.”

Emma Hawes Taylor, 50, of Warren Avenue, who runs Henley Action on Reducing Plastic, said the burden of reducing plastic pollution should be placed on manufacturers rather than the consumer.

She said: “It’s extremely disappointing that this opportunity to do something at a global level and really make a difference in a meaningful way has been, from what I have read, blocked by people with vested interests in oil. I have long said that recycling issues including plastic should be pointed at the manufacturers, not at the consumers.

“There is an awful lot of information aimed at consumers saying we should reduce, reuse, recycle and do more to not use these things, but actually, if they were banned, if they were not available, then it simply wouldn’t be a problem.”

Mrs Hawes Taylor said states and corporations which put “money before lives” are taking the planet to the “point of no return”, with microplastics now leaching into our food and water with the ramifications not completely understood yet.

She said: “We are on a planet that we are killing as humans and the people that could really make a difference to that just won’t, people once again putting money before people, money before lives, money before the planet.

“We’ve got to leave younger generations a planet that is worth living on and it concerns me because I think we may be past the point of no return on that.

“We now have microplastics absolutely everywhere and there is no way to come back from that. They are in our water and we are drinking them every day.

”We know there are hormones in some of these plastics and they are leaching into some of our foods, but what we don’t know is exactly what that is doing to our children when they are in those formative stages of development.”

Diana Barnett, who chairs Greener Henley, said: “Plastic pollution is in our ground-water, our soil, our rivers, our oceans and even in our bodies. This is why an agreement on plastic is so very important for all of us.

“From what I have read about this UN conference, the scientists present were outnumbered four to one by lobbyists from the petrochemical industries of the oil-rich countries.

“Greener Henley’s vision is for a safer, cleaner and greener Henley. We believe we can make a difference as individuals and as a community. To do this we encourage the wearing of natural fibres to avoid micro- plastics being washed into our water system.

“It is up to us to show how serious we are about plastic reduction not only for our own health but for the health of future generations all over the world. Can we wait for the next round of discussions for a treaty on plastics?”

Kate Oldridge, the charity’s executive director, said: “It’s a real blow that the Geneva talks have broken down — plastic pollution is a global crisis, and we see the impacts here in Henley too.

“Plastic in the Thames harms wildlife, breaks down into microplastics and leaches into our food chain, ultimately affecting our health and that of countless other species.

“Local action not only protects our environment, but crucially, it also gives politicians the public backing they need to take bold decisions on the national and international stage.”