USEFUL, BUT PLASTIC HAS ITS PROBLEMS

The group and its allies want a treaty 'that cuts plastic production, eliminates toxic chemicals, and provides the financing that's going to be required to transition to a fossil fuel, plastic-free future'

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Countries tried hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution.

Three years of negotiations hit the wall in South Korea in December when a group of 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 United Nations. 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 told AFP.

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."

Human bodies riddled

Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024.