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A flag with an eye and writing that reads “Governments, the world is watching, cut plastic production now” is displayed by Greenpeace activists in Busan, South Korea, on Nov 25, 2024, before the opening of the Fifth session of UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) at a nearby venue. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)

VOInews, Baku : A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday (Nov 25), with deep differences between nations emerging almost immediately.

The meeting opened just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient. Opening the meeting, the Ecuadorian diplomat chairing the talks warned nations that the conference was about "far more than drafting an international treaty".

"It is about humanity rising to meet an existential challenge," Luis Vayas Valdivieso told an opening plenary in South Korea's Busan.

Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous it has been found in clouds, the deepest ocean trenches and even human breastmilk. And while almost everyone agrees it is a problem, there is less consensus on how to solve it.

Among the most contentious issues are whether the treaty should cap plastic production, a possible ban on chemicals feared toxic to human health, and how to pay for implementation. The deep differences have dogged four previous rounds of talks over the last two years, resulting in a lengthy and contradictory draft treaty running over 70 pages.

Valdivieso has produced an alternative document intended to synthesise the views of delegations and move negotiations forward. Several countries, including Russia and India, also warned on Monday that they were not willing to use it as a basis for negotiations.

"The reality is that many countries do not see themselves represented in this paper," warned Saudi Arabia's delegation head Eyad Aljubran, speaking on behalf of the Arab group.

In 2019, the world produced around 460 million tonnes of plastic, a figure that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.

More than 90 per cent of plastic is not recycled, with over 20 million tonnes leaking into the environment, often after just a few minutes of use. Plastic also accounts for around three per cent of global emissions, mostly linked to its production from fossil fuels//CNA-VOI