Will Big Oil weaken the UN Plastic Pollution Treaty? Greenpeace warns of lobbying manipulation

23 Sep 2022 --- Global businesses across the plastics value chain, financial institutions, and NGOs have announced a shared vision for a global treaty to end plastic pollution. The “Business Coalition” aims to build on previous efforts to act in favor of starting intergovernmental negotiations.

The treaty negotiation process, expected to conclude at the end of 2024, will largely determine the trajectory of the plastic pollution crisis for generations to come. 

Some organizations like Greenpeace are voicing skepticism toward the upcoming negotiations and demand a “strong” global plastics treaty that matches the scale of the plastic crisis. 

“The biggest challenge to an ambitious plastics treaty will be some governments, corporations and the lobby of big oil, who will try to weaken this ambition,” Graham Forbes, global plastics project lead at Greenpeace USA, tells PackagingInsights.

“If the fossil fuel industry has its way, plastic production could double within the next 10-15 years and triple by 2050, which is alarming. Big oil is a big threat to a meaningful plastics treaty, and we need to ensure that the interest of real stakeholders – our environment, our communities, our health and our climate, will be prioritized in the negotiations,” he asserts.

The biggest challenge to an ambitious plastics treaty will be some governments, corporations and the lobby of big oil, warns Greenpeace USA.Country incentives
Graham says a strong global plastic treaty would bring real economic and social opportunity that will limit production and use, and replace the current throwaway culture with refill and reuse systems. 

“If we were to replace even 20% of single-use packaging with reusables, it could be worth US$10 billion in business opportunity, with other benefits beyond the reduced environmental and social impacts, including customer convenience and choice. This shift will also have the potential to create better jobs that will not trade our health and our environment for profit.”

“There is no better incentive for countries than to have a chance to correct this crisis for future generations. With the upcoming negotiation of the global plastics treaty this November, industries and governments must align themselves on the right side of history and support an ambitious plastics agreement that will finally end the age of plastic,” says Forbes. 

Erin Simon, vice president and head of Plastic Waste and Business, WWF explains: “The plastic crisis extends beyond all borders, impacting the health of our oceans and wildlife, and the livelihoods of people from major cities to small coastal communities. The scope and scale of this global issue must be met with equally ambitious solutions.”

“We have no time to waste. The need for global coordination to tackle the plastic pollution crisis has never been more urgent. A Business Coalition for a global plastics treaty will push strongly for a framework that leaves the business-as-usual approach at the door and ushers us into a new era where ending plastic pollution is finally within reach.”

Finding common ground The plastic crisis extends beyond all borders and therefore requires a global treaty, says WWF.
Ahead of the first Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee meeting scheduled for the end of November this year, the endorsing organizations are calling out the need for a global treaty which sets common goals, rules and obligations that member states will be required to implement within their national jurisdictions. 

For businesses and investors, this means creating a level playing field and preventing a patchwork of disconnected solutions.

This week, PackagingInsights also spoke with different NGOs who are active members of the #breakfreefromplastic movement about stakeholders’ responsibilities in reducing packaging waste and redesigning packaging. 

In a signal of their ambition for the negotiation process, the endorsing organizations of the Business Coalition agree that the treaty must support progress on a number of key outcomes, including the reduction of plastic production and use through a circular economy approach, increased circulation of necessary plastic and the prevention and remediation of hard-to-abate micro- and macro-plastic leakage into the environment. 

The list of organizations endorsing the common vision highlights the high level agreement between businesses across the plastics value chain and supporting organizations on the need to define a comprehensive and coordinated set of upstream and downstream policy measures that help achieve our desired global outcomes and are adaptable to local conditions.

“We need to stress that an ambitious global plastics treaty will keep oil and gas in the ground, hold big polluters accountable for their excessive plastic production and build refill and reuse systems. A strong plastics treaty will mean a safer planet and a better future for us and for our children,” concludes Forbes. 

By Natalie Schwertheim