00:00Can a global treaty to end plastic pollution be reached?
00:06Gathered in Geneva, delegates from around 100 countries, including the EU, are tackling the problem.
00:14Their goal is to establish legally binding targets to cut plastic production.
00:20In contrast, oil and gas exporters like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia prefer to focus solely on waste management and recycling.
00:30Well, some countries, of course, are worried about the financial implications, particularly if they're a country that exports a lot of oil and gas, which is the main carbon source of plastics.
00:41Also, if they're a country that produces a lot of plastic products, they're concerned about the potential financial implications.
00:48There's a good number of countries, however, more than 100 who are aligned, already agreed on a high ambition treaty.
00:54The European Commission is pushing for a treaty that tackles the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal.
01:03It also backs a gradual phase-out of certain plastics that are harmful to human health and the environment.
01:11A marine biology professor is urging negotiators to take action.
01:16The plastic pollution is a global environmental problem.
01:18Plastic contaminates our planet, literally, from our deepest oceans to our highest mountains.
01:25It's present in Arctic sea ice right the way through to the equator.
01:29The microplastic pieces that I've spent much of my career working on are now present in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.
01:36460 million tons of plastic are produced each year.
01:4181% of plastic products end up as waste in less than a year.
01:46Of this waste, only 9% is recycled, 20% is incinerated, more than 20% is abandoned in nature and almost half ends up in landfill sites.
01:58The negotiations attended by delegates, NGOs, scientists and industrialists end on August 14th.
02:05The previous session in Korea at the end of 2024 failed to reach an agreement.
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