BRUSSELS — The official presiding over talks for a global plastic treaty published a new draft of the suggested text Wednesday — but avoided delving into the most controversial topics in the negotiations.
Luis Vayas, chair of the United Nations-convened Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, swerved putting forward new proposals for the three thorniest aspects of the negotiations: reducing plastic production, banning certain kinds of plastic products and chemicals, and financing. He is leaving that up to negotiators in the final round of talks in Busan, South Korea, next month.
Vayas, who is also Ecuador’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, suggests that countries at the next round of talks agree on a text that “includes a process to address the current information gaps regarding existing and needed levels of production.”
Each party to the treaty should be “encouraged to take measures” to “promote enhanced design and performance of plastic products, as well as transparency, including with respect to their chemical composition,” he added.
