The presence of pro-plastic lobbyists at UN talks is ‘disturbing’, say advocates

Environmentalists are sounding the alarm over a sharp increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.

Delegates from 175 nation states are in Ottawa to hammer out a binding global treaty to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that spills into landfills, enters the oceans and washes up.

Nearly 5,000 people participate in the summit.

According to an analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 196 lobbyists from oil, gas and chemical companies are registered as observers for this round of negotiations. CIEL says this is an increase of 37 percent from the previous round of talks in Kenya and that more lobbyists from state delegations may participate in the negotiations.

“It is disturbing that the industry and those responsible for pollution are part of the negotiations and influencing the outcome of these talks,” said Suzanne Smoke of the Indigenous People’s Caucus.

Most plastic is made from fossil fuels and some of the chemicals used are toxic.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, more than 430 million tons of plastic are produced annually

While most countries agree that plastic pollution needs to end, there is disagreement about how to achieve that and how long it should take.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault leaves a press conference on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Bethanie Carney-Almroth, professor of ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg, says the lobbyists are actively blocking progress on plastic waste.

“What we discover are common techniques used by industry and actors with conflicts of interest to delay and block policy action. This includes providing misinformation, or misrepresenting science, cherry-picking data and producing false experts… and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the impact of plastics on the environment,” said Carney-Almroth, a of the 58 scientists who observed the negotiations in Ottawa.

Environmental groups say a limit on plastic production should be enshrined in the treaty, as well as a ban on the most toxic chemicals in plastic.

Greenpeace International calls for a 75 percent reduction in global plastic production by 2040.

Graham Forbes, leader of Greenpeace’s Global Plastics Campaign, says the fossil fuel industry is investing “hundreds of billions of dollars” in new petrochemical plants to produce plastics for generations to come.

“We are clearly at an unsustainable level now and they are pouring all their money into plans to make the problem worse,” Forbes said.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents plastics manufacturers, says it is against a production cap.

“We believe in ending plastic pollution, not tackling plastic production,” said Ross Eisenberg, the top lobbyist at the ACC.

Eisenberg says the ACC is against ending the production of single-use plastics, such as food and drink packaging, which make up more than half of plastic waste. Instead, the ACC supports helping all countries with their recycling efforts and designing better products that can be reused and recycled more efficiently.

“It’s called ‘advanced recycling’ or ‘chemical recycling’. This is a technology that makes all that single-use plastic infinitely recyclable,” Eisenberg said.

Canada is one of 60 countries supporting the elimination of non-essential single-use plastics by 2040. Canada is also a major producer of fossil fuels and is the 15th largest plastics producer in the world, according to Environmental Defense Canada.

As host of this UN round of talks, Canada is under pressure from environmental groups to take a leading role in crafting a strong treaty to reduce plastic pollution.