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UN talks struggle for advancement on plastics treaty as due date looms

The chairman of talks aiming for a global treaty to control contamination from plastics provided a file on Friday laying out procedures that could furnish the basis of a pact, in an attempt to spur conversations as a Dec. 1 deadline methods.

South Korea is hosting delegates from about 175 countries at the fifth and final meeting of the U.N. Intergovernmental Working Out Committee (INC-5) to agree internationally binding guidelines on plastics, but this week's talks had moved at glacial speed.

The document, provided by committee chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and seen , featured concepts such as a. international list of plastic items to be managed and a monetary. system to assist fund developing countries act on the treaty.

The high and rapidly increasing levels of plastic contamination. ... represent a serious environmental and human health problem,. the file stated.

It mentioned, however did not verify, some of the most dissentious. jobs, such as whether the treaty will set a worldwide target to. cut output of primary plastic polymers or avoid it altogether,. and left uncertain how abundant countries would contribute to a fund.

A global target to reduce plastic production is in (the. file), stated Graham Forbes, who led the Greenpeace. delegation to the talks.

Keeping this in the final treaty text need to be a redline for. any country serious about ending plastic contamination.

The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). representing makers of plastic, backs governments' efforts to. settle the deal, said its representative, Stewart Harris, adding. that the body wanted to hasten a circular economy for plastics.

Countries which produce petrochemicals, such as Saudi Arabia,. oppose efforts to top plastic production, despite the demonstrations. of low- and middle-income nations that bear the force of plastic. contamination.

While supporting a global treaty, the petrochemical. market has actually likewise been vocal in prompting governments to prevent. setting compulsory plastic production caps in favour of efforts. to reduce plastic waste, such as recycling.

The chairman's relocation came after numerous participants had. revealed disappointment at the slow rate of the talks, amidst. disputes over procedure, numerous proposals and some. efforts to return to ground covered in the past.

(source: Reuters)