There is significant disagreement on whether to create a dedicated plastics fund contributed by developed donor countries or to employ existing mechanisms such as Global Environment Facility.
The draft treaty text mentions levies or taxes on plastic production, which many delegates said were necessary to raise enough money to implement the global treaty. This is a red line for many plastics producing countries, which view any such measure as punitive and imposing unjustified costs on trade.
2. Plastics production
The a coalition with high ambitions co-chaired by Rwanda and Norway, believes that measures to reduce plastic production are indispensable, which is supported by extensive evidence.
Panama filed an ambitious proposal requiring countries to adopt a global target to reduce the production of virgin plastic polymers to sustainable levels once a treaty is agreed.
But targets to reduce plastic production are another red line for oil-rich countries. In the closing plenary session, statements issued on behalf of the like-minded group, the Arab group and others made it clear that they would not accept any such measures.
3. Security
Research shows that over 16,000 chemicals are used or present in plastics, and while over 10,000 of them lack safety information, 4,200 are known to be of concern.
Effective regulation of the employ of chemicals in plastics must be the cornerstone of any plastics treaty. However, despite proposals and support from over 100 member countries for a global phase-out of harmful chemicals, the draft text of the treaty contains only passing references to chemicals.