Artificial Intelligence Offers Solutions to Combat Plastic Pollution

The fifth and final round of negotiations for a global treaty against plastic pollution opened earlier this week in Busan, South Korea, but divergences among the 178 participating countries manifested themselves almost immediately, shortly after the chaotic end of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29), which recently took place in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. "This conference is more than just drafting an international treaty. It is humanity itself mobilizing in the face of an existential threat," said Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the Ecuadorian diplomat chairing the debate, at the opening of the session. He reminded delegates that they would have "63 hours of work" to reach an agreement on the thorny issues of the negotiations, such as caps on plastic production and a possible ban on toxic chemicals.

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous. Microplastic particles are found in all the food people eat, in virtually every organ in the human body, including the brain and breast milk, and inside clouds.

In 2019, humanity produced an estimated 460 million tons of plastic, a quantity that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). And this amount is likely to double again by 2040. Over 90% of plastic is never recycled and over 20 million tons end up in nature every year, often after just a few minutes. ute of use. Plastic, a product made from fossil fuels, also accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions. But while everyone has agreed to recognize the seriousness of the problem, opinions differ radically on how to combat plastic pollution. Two camps are facing off in the Busan negotiations. First, there is the "High Ambition Coalition" (HAC), which brings together many African, European and Asian countries. These countries want a treaty that covers the entire "life cycle" of plastics, from production to waste. The HAC advocates for binding targets for reducing production and waste, as well as for imposing changes in the design of plastic products to facilitate their reuse. The opposing camp, composed mainly of major oil producers such as Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, advocates for a less restrictive treaty that would only address recycling and waste management, without addressing production. Because of these divisions, the first four rounds of negotiations resulted in a draft treaty of more than 70 pages with cryptic wording and provisions that were unanimously considered unenforceable. To break the deadlock, Luis Vayas Valdivieso drafted an alternative draft, written in 17 pages and emphasizing consensus issues, such as the need to promote reusable plastics. The chairman of the negotiations scored an initial victory on Monday when he secured the Busan negotiations to be held on the basis of his simplified "document." Initially opposed to this possibility, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran eventually gave in. Some observers predict that the negotiations will go into overtime in Busan, as happened at the difficult UN conferences on climate change and biodiversity in recent weeks. "After the failure of two consecutive nature and climate summits, the Busan session must be a refuge against the lack of action on nature and climate," WWF said. Luis Vayas Valdivieso wants an agreement to be signed at all costs in Busan. This worries some NGOs, who fear that countries will only agree on a "timid" treaty, only to sign something on December 1. The positions of the United States and China, which have so far not openly supported either camp, will prove crucial.