NAIROBI ¨C When the United Nations agreed on a landmark deal to create the world¡¯s first ever global plastic pollution treaty this week, every party was quick to claim a victory, from industry lobbyists to environmental activists. That could spell trouble.
The agreement to finalize such a treaty by 2024, which the U.N. Environment Assembly called ¡°historic¡± and the most significant green pact since the 2015 Paris climate accord, was drafted in broad strokes.
That¡¯s given an intergovernmental negotiating committee the mammoth task of reaching a consensus on key issues such as how to address soaring production of single-use plastic, which is made from oil and is a growth market in petrochemical hubs like the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
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