Nairobi: The latest negotiations towards a global treaty to combat plastic pollution open in Nairobi on Monday, with tensions expected as nations tussle over what should be included in the pact.
Some 175 countries agreed last year to conclude by 2024 a UN treaty to combat the plastic blighting oceans, floating in the atmosphere, and infiltrating the bodies of animals and humans.While there is broad consensus a treaty is needed, there are very different opinions about what should be in it.Negotiators have met twice already but the November 13-19 talks are the first to consider a draft text of the treaty published in September and the policy options it contains.
Call for urgencyThe meeting to debate the future of plastic comes just before crucial climate talks in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates later this month, where discussions over fossil fuels and their planet-heating emissions are due to dominate the agenda.As in the UN negotiations on climate and biodiversity, financing is a key point of tension in the plastic talks.