The G7 countries pledged on Sunday to reduce their plastic pollution to zero by 2040, while a new round of negotiations for a legally binding treaty will begin in Paris in May under the auspices of the United Nations by the end of 2024. If While the global hunger for plastics seems insatiable, where is the fight to reduce its environmental footprint?
• An international treaty by the end of 2024?
The G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada) have committed to reducing their plastic pollution to zero by 2040, thanks in particular to the circular economy and the reduction or abandonment of single-use plastics. and not recyclable. , according to a statement released on Sunday.
Until then, other commitments are expected: a year ago in Nairobi (Kenya), 175 countries agreed to end plastic pollution in the world by developing a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024 under the auspices of the United Nations. The next negotiating session on the issue is scheduled for May in Paris.
Among the planned measures are a global ban on single-use plastic items, the establishment of a “polluter pays” system and a tax on the production of new plastic.
• How much plastic is produced in the world?
Always more: world production does not seem willing to slow down, quite the contrary. Global plastic production doubled between 2000 and 2019, from 234 to 460 million tons (Mt), according to a February 2022 report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). .
In 2019 alone, 22 million tons of plastic were released into the environment, including 6 Mt in rivers, lakes and oceans, according to the OECD. Plastics represent “at least 85% of total marine litter,” according to UN Environment.
• Where is the plastic produced?
In 2020, more than half of plastics came from Asia. China’s production alone represents a third of the global balance (32%). Over the decade 2010-2020, it jumped 82%, from 64 Mt to 117 Mt per year, while global growth was around 30%, according to a Plastics Europe report. Europe produced 55 Mt of plastic in 2020, 5% less than in 2019.
• How will production grow?
According to estimates cited in a September 2021 WWF report, global plastic production will double by 2040 and “accelerate the climate crisis.”
In the same order of magnitude, in another report: if current trends continue, plastic use will nearly double compared to 2019 in G20 countries by 2050, to 451 million tons per year, he estimated in February 2019. 2022 a report by Economist Impact, The Economist Group, and The Nippon Foundation, a private philanthropic organization.
• What solutions beyond recycling?
While Europe stands out for recycling more than a third of its plastic waste, globally only 9% of plastic waste (33 million tons) was recycled in 2019, according to the OECD.
More than recycling, which is not a panacea, NGOs like Zero Waste advocate a reduction in use to lower global production. In this sense, they want the development of bulk, storage and ecodesign “for a longer useful life of the product”, explains Juliette Franquet, manager of the NGO.
Some tout the production of bio-based plastics to reduce oil use, but it represents only a small part of the industry. Produced from sugar, starch, corn or wheat, they weigh less than 1% of world production.
Source: BFM TV
