Plastic Pollution Negotiations at the Crossroads in Busan

India proposes dedicated multilateral fund to compensate developing countries for their transition towards plastic-free living - without overlap with the mandates of other multilateral agreements

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY

At the midweek of the global plastics stocktake, the fifth and final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in South Korea's Busan is yet to decide what all should be included in the mandate—from a cut in production to regulating toxic chemicals used in making polymers. The final text of the agreement is due on December 1.

However, environmental experts are dismayed at the way the negotiations have been progressing. For, the oversized presence of fossil fuel lobbyists threatens to turn the critical environmental agreement into a charade, undermining serious efforts to curb plastic production and pollution. They worry the final text may not craft a strong way forward to make the planet plastic-free.

Financial mechanism India proposed a dedicated multilateral fund to compensate developing countries for their transition towards plastic-free living. The fund would help developing nations meet the additional costs of transition and invest in alternative sustainable materials, India argued.

Around 100 other countries, including the African and Latin and Caribbean Group, made similar proposals like establishing a new, independent, adequate, and accessible financial mechanism to support developing countries meet their obligations under the proposed treaty.