SCO summit strengthens Azerbaijan–China partnership
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit opened in Tianjin on 31 August, gathering leaders from across Eurasia and the Global South....
BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) -Negotiators on a treaty to curb plastic pollution face tough debate on the last day of scheduled talks, as over 100 countries support curbing production while a handful of oil-producing countries want to focus only on plastic waste.
The fifth and final U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to yield a legally binding global treaty is set to wrap up in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday, but a final plenary session has not been set.
A treaty could be the most significant deal relating to environmental protection as well as climate-warming emissions since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Countries remained far apart on Sunday on the basic scope of the treaty. An option proposed by Panama, backed by over 100 countries, would create a path for a global plastic production reduction target, while another proposal does not include production caps.
"If you're not contributing constructively, and if you're not trying to join us in having an ambitious treaty... then please get out," Fiji's chief negotiator, Climate Minister Sivendra Michael, told a press conference.
A smaller number of petrochemical-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia have strongly opposed efforts to target plastic production and have tried to use procedural tactics to delay negotiations.
Saudi Arabia did not have an immediate comment.
China, the United States, India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia were the top five primary polymer producing nations in 2023, according to data provider Eunomia.
HOURS REMAINING
With just hours remaining for scheduled talks and consensus seemingly out of reach, some negotiators and observers fear the talks could collapse or be extended to another session.
Even if a legally binding treaty is not reached at Busan, "this is a multilateral process that can keep working towards that goal," Mexico's head of delegation, Camila Zepeda, told Reuters.
"We have... a coalition of the willing, over a hundred countries that want this, and we can start working together" on a way forward.
Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in air, fresh produce and even human breast milk.
The chair of the meeting, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, released a revised document on Sunday that could form the basis of a treaty.
But the text remained peppered with many options on the most divisive issues: capping plastic production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty.
Chemicals of concern in plastics include more than 3,200 found according to a 2023 U.N. Environment Programme report, which said women and children were particularly susceptible to their toxicity.
"If it (the text) does not have the provisions of what we expect from an ambitious treaty, then we will.. go back to the same process pushing for an ambitious treaty," Sivendra said.
"Nobody is going to leave Busan with a weak treaty."
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Pakistan’s eastern towns of Chiniot and Hafizabad are at risk of devastating floods if an irrigation barrage on a major upstream river collapses after torrential rains pushed it beyond capacity, officials warned on Thursday.
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain have signed an agreement with China to jointly develop a $220 million solar energy project.
A deadly landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a major Hindu pilgrimage route in Jammu, killing at least 30 people and disrupting communication across the region.
Wind farm developer Orsted's plan to raise much-needed capital is at risk following a U.S. order to halt construction of a near-complete project, and the Danish group's share price could come under pressure on Monday, analysts said.
Brazil’s government has ruled out subsidising hotel costs for delegates attending the COP30 climate summit in Belém this November, despite growing concerns over soaring accommodation prices.
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