Nations call for strong plastics treaty as difficult talks loom
More than 90 countries called on Tuesday for a global treaty to restrict plastic production, ahead of another round of hard-fought negotiations on the pact.
The talks collapsed in late 2024 with nations unable to agree on how to stop millions of tons of plastic waste from entering the environment each year.
Ahead of the next round of negotiations in August, ministers from 95 countries issued a symbolic call for a binding treaty that caps plastic production and phases out harmful chemicals.
"This declaration sends a clear and strong message: we will not give up," France's environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said at the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice in southern France, where the statement was issued. "We must reduce our production and consumption of plastics."
So-called "high-ambition" nations have long pushed for the accord to include caps on the manufacture of new plastic, which is largely made from chemicals derived from fossil fuels.
An opposing group of "like-minded" countries -- mostly oil and petrochemical giants -- have rejected calls for production limits, and pushed instead for a treaty that prioritizes waste management.
Mexico's environment minister Alicia Barcena said caps on plastic were critical "to send a message on the root of the plastic crisis" and recycling and waste management alone would not solve the problem.
In 2019, the world produced around 460 million tons of plastic, a figure that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.
But just nine percent of plastic is recycled globally and every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks worth of plastic waste is dumped into oceans, rivers and lakes.
"We are heartened to see this demonstration of ambition from the majority of countries, who are showing a united front against the small number of petro-chemical states trying to prevent a strong treaty," said Ana Rocha from GAIA, an alliance of activist groups.
The declaration also called for the elimination of "chemicals of concern" in plastics that are harmful to human health and the environment.
A treaty lacking these elements or based on voluntary measures "would not be effective to deal with the challenge of plastic pollution", they said.
Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found atop Mount Everest, in the deepest ocean trench, and in human blood and breastmilk.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged nations to "confront the plague of plastic pollution" and expressed hope the treaty talks would be concluded this year.
© 2025 AFP
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Asahi Shimbun
12 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
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Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
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Germany has so far declined to join other major Western countries in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state. Palestinians in another nearby town laid to rest 45-year-old Khamis Ayad, who they say suffocated while extinguishing fires set by settlers during an attack the night before. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired live rounds and tear gas toward residents after the settlers attacked. Israel's military said police were investigating the incident. They said security forces found Hebrew graffiti and a burnt vehicle at the scene but had not detained any suspects. There has been a rise in settler attacks, as well as Palestinian militant attacks on Israelis and large-scale Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel out of Gaza that triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, that day and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Mainichi
6 days ago
- The Mainichi
Starmer says UK will recognize Palestinian state unless Israel agrees ceasefire, ends Gaza suffering
LONDON (AP) -- The U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, allows the U.N. to bring in aid and takes other steps toward long-term peace, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday. Starmer, who is under mounting domestic pressure over the issue as scenes of hunger in Gaza horrify many Britons, convened a rare summertime Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation there. It came after he discussed the crisis with President Donald Trump during a meeting in Scotland on Monday. Trump told reporters on Monday that he didn't mind Starmer "taking a position" on Palestinian statehood. On his flight back to the U.S. on Tuesday, Trump said the two never discussed the U.K. potentially recognizing a Palestinian state. "We have no view on that," Trump said. Israel rejects the announcement Starmer said that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. "And this includes allowing the U.N. to restart the supply of aid, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank," he said. It seems highly unlikely that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu could meet the conditions, which cut to the heart of the most intractable issues in the conflict. Netanyahu rejects the two-state solution on both nationalistic and security grounds. Israel's foreign ministry said it rejected the British statement. "The shift in the British government's position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages," the ministry said on X. Starmer also repeated U.K. demands that Hamas release all the hostages it holds, agree to a ceasefire, disarm and "accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza." Starmer said in a televised statement that his government will assess in September "how far the parties have met these steps" before making a final decision on recognition. Britain has long supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, but has said recognition should come as part of a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict. But Starmer said Britain was willing to take the step because "the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years." He said that despite the set of conditions he set out, Britain believes that "statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people." Growing pressure on Israel Pressure to formally recognize Palestinian statehood has mounted since French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state in September. As with France, British recognition would be largely symbolic, but it's part of a broader European and global shift against Israel and could increase diplomatic pressure for an end to the conflict. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe. Macron's announcement last week made France the first Group of Seven country --and the largest in Europe --to take that step. Europe has widely soured on Israel over Gaza. Countries including Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have sought to aggressively pressure Israel to let in more aid and cease military operations. More than 250 of the 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons have signed a letter urging the British government to recognize a Palestinian state. Britain has a particular historic role as the former governing power of what was then Palestine and author of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which backed the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Britain bore a "special burden of responsibility." "Our support for Israel, its right to exist, and the security of its people, is steadfast," Lammy told a meeting at the U.N. in New York. "However, the Balfour Declaration came with the solemn promise that nothing shall be done, nothing which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian people as well. And colleagues, this has not been upheld, and it is a historical injustice which continues to unfold." France welcomed Britain's announcement. "The United Kingdom is joining the momentum created by France for the recognition of the state of Palestine," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X. Omar Awadallah, assistant to the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister, welcomed Starmer's announcement and said the U.K. has a historic responsibility to recognize a Palestine state and would be "correcting a historic injustice," if it follows through in September. The Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in pockets of the occupied West Bank.
