Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- The latest negotiations toward a global plastic treaty ended late Sunday with disagreement about how the pact should work and frustration from environmental groups over delays and lack of progress. Negotiators from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) met in Nairobi for the third time since 175 nations pledged last year to fast-track talks with the aim of finalising a treaty by 2024. The treaty terms were reportedly never really addressed, with a small number of oil-producing nations — particularly Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia — accused of employing stalling tactics seen at previous negotiation rounds to hinder progress. (AFP/France 24)
- European lawmakers and EU member states have agreed to ban exports of plastic waste to countries outside the OECD group of mostly rich countries from the middle of 2026. The deal came as diplomats met in Nairobi to hammer out a global treaty on plastic pollution. Most plastic thrown away in Europe gets burned, and less than a third gets recycled. Environmental campaigners have raised concerns that some plastic waste shipped abroad for recycling ends up in landfills and waterways. (The Guardian)
- The United States and China advanced their cooperation on the climate after a meeting to find common ground ahead of COP28 talks in Dubai later this month. The two countries will back a new global renewables target and work together on methane and plastic pollution, they said in a joint after a meeting in California. The US and China agreed to revive a bilateral climate working group that will discuss areas of cooperation, but differences remain on issues like phasing out fossil fuels. (Reuters)