Countries unite to tackle plastic pollution

COUNTRIES were to start the clock yesterday on 10 days of talks aimed at hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution.

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Three years of negotiations hit the wall in South Korea in December when a group of oil-producing states blocked a consensus.

Since the failure in Busan, countries have been working behind the scenes and are giving it another go in Geneva, in talks at the UN.

Key figures steering the negotiations said they were not expecting an easy ride this time round, but insisted a deal remained within reach.

“There's been extensive diplomacy from Busan till now,” UN Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen said.

UNEP is hosting the talks, and Andersen said conversations across, between and among different regions and interest groups had generated momentum.

“Most countries, actually, that I have spoken with have said: ‘We're coming to Geneva to strike the deal.

“Will it be easy? No. Will it be straightforward? No. Is there a pathway for a deal? Absolutely.”