5th UN plastics treaty talks begin in South Korea

The week-long fifth and final U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting opened on Monday in Busan, South Korea, aiming to securing an international treaty to curb plastic pollution.

In March 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

The resolution requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop "the instrument," which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.

The INC began its work during the second half of 2022, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024.

From November 2022 to April this year, four sessions of the INC were held.

At the ongoing meeting in Busan, negotiators gathers in a final push to create the treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution.

The ever-increasing plastic pollution, one of the most serious environmental problems facing mankind, has sparked widespread concerns among countries, and has led to an urgent need to find alternatives to plastic.

According to data released by the UNEP, with the recycling rate less than 10 percent, approximately 7 billion of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced from 1950-2017 became plastic waste, ending up in landfills or dumped. This does not just have a huge effect on the environment, but on human health as well.

Every year, more than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide, one third of which is used just once, said the UNEP.

According to estimates, an equivalent of over 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes every day.

Every year, about 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems every year, polluting lakes, rivers and seas.

In addition, plastic production also contributes to more than 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating the climate crisis.

So far, more than 140 countries and regions across the globe have formulated policies to ban or impose restrictions on the use of plastics.

Analysts say that finding alternatives to plastic is an effective way to cut down the use of plastics and alleviate plastic pollution at the source, and it is also a top priority for the world to cope with the crisis brought by plastic pollution.

5th UN plastics treaty talks begin in South Korea

The massive production complex of BASF in Zhanjiang City in south China's Guangdong Province has become a major symbol of China-Germany cooperation and green power utilization.

The company on Thursday put the multibillion-euro site into full operation, marking the largest single investment project wholly owned by a German enterprise in China.

With an investment of 8.7 billion euros, the integrated site covers about 4 square kilometers, the company said. Industry analysts say the project underscores BASF's long-term commitment to expanding in China as the country continues to promote high-standard opening up.

Unlike traditional plants, it runs entirely on green power, using 100 percent renewable electricity and fully electric-driven compressors for its core steam cracker.

"By utilizing 100 percent of the renewable energy, our products made in Zhanjiang contribute also significantly to the lower carbon product footprint. Our current product footprint for such a site like ours will probably be around 4 million tons of CO2. And today, we are at 1.7 million tons of CO2," said Haryono Lim, president of Mega Projects Asia at BASF.

Cutting carbon emissions by more than half, the Zhanjiang site is setting new benchmarks for sustainable chemical production.

"We wanted to distinctively move to South China to participate in the strong growth around the Pearl River Delta and in Guangdong Province. And then, of course, Zhanjiang offers great opportunities with its good infrastructure, deep-sea harbor, and great support by the local government," said Markus Kamieth, CEO of BASF.

The local government's support has been key to the company's growth in the region, and the project is now driving broader green ambitions.

"BASF's full operation boosts the region's low-carbon hydrogen transition by developing the hydrogen value chain to attract related industries, supplying low-cost green power from offshore wind and solar, driving green upgrades in local petrochemicals and steel, and helping build a national pilot zone for zero-carbon industrial parks," said Yang Jiedong, director of the Administrative Committee of Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone.

BASF Zhanjiang production complex goes fully green, using 100 percent renewable electricity