Negotiations to produce a legally binding treaty to curb the global explosion of plastic pollution fell short on Sunday as efforts to limit the production of fossil fuel-based plastics supported by over 100 countries, including the European Union, met fierce opposition from oil-producing nations.
A coalition of oil and gas producers led by Saudi Arabia that included Iran, Russia, and other Gulf states under the Arab group, opposed capping plastic production, insisting the treaty should focus solely on plastics waste management.
Negotiations this week in Busan, South Korea (known as INC-5), were meant to be the final round of a two-year process to create what the UN Environment Agency and environmental groups called “the most important multilateral treaty” since the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Beyond the climate impacts, plastics pose escalating health risks through contamination of food chains, water, soils, and ocean life – all eventually making their way into people’s bodies.
Scientists have detected plastic particles in human blood, lungs, breast milk, and unborn children. Research shows that people unknowingly consume about five grams of microplastics weekly through eating, drinking and breathing, while over 3,200 chemicals in plastics have known toxic effects and another 5,000 remain inadequately studied.
Researchers have even discovered “plasticosis,” a new condition where microplastics alter cell behaviour in human and animal organs.
Despite this growing evidence base, the treaty’s approach to health remains undecided. The final text presents two options: a standalone health article championed by Brazil, or strengthened health references throughout the document.
With negotiations in Busan conducted behind closed doors, countries’ positions on this choice remain unclear.
“Our babies are entering this world with their brains and bodies already contaminated with plastics, exposing them to toxic chemicals that can affect their ability to learn and increase their risk of endocrine disorders, reproductive harm, and cancers,” Aileen Lucero from the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) told delegates at the closing session.
The financial toll on health is mounting. The Endocrine Society found just four families of plastic chemicals cause over $400 billion in annual health costs in the United States alone. Globally, the UN Environment Programme warns that inaction on chemical and plastic pollution could cost up to 10% of global GDP.
“The science is clear: A treaty that protects human health and the environment needs to address the issues of plastic production and chemicals,” said Bethanie Carney Almroth, Professor at the University of Gothenburg, speaking for the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, a network of over 400 independent experts.
Read the full story in Health Policy Watch.