Photo/Illutration Luis Vayas Valdivieso, who chairs the International Negotiating Committee, can be seen on the screen speaking during a plenary of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Busan, South Korea, on Dec. 1. (AP Photo)

Countries negotiating a global treaty to curb plastic pollution failed to reach agreement despite a pledge to do so by the year-end.

The issue of plastic pollution on land and at sea needs to be addressed urgently.

Delegates at a session of the U.N. Environment Assembly in 2022 agreed on the need for a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024.

It is very unfortunate the target date has not been met.

Japan and the other nations must strive in the months to come to make sure a resumed session of the committee will produce an effective convention.

During the session held in South Korea, agreement was deemed difficult to reach in the fields of regulations on plastics production, regulations on specific plastic products and chemicals and the financial wherewithal to make it all happen.

European Union members, nations in Africa, island countries and others proposed setting reduction targets for production volumes.

By contrast, Middle Eastern nations, Russia and other exporters of petroleum, from which plastics are made, demanded that production regulations be dropped from the prospective treaty.

Opinion was also split on regulating specific plastic materials and chemical additives to plastic products.

Advanced and developing countries remained at odds over the financial mechanism.

Japan is second only to the United States in the amount of plastic packaging waste generated per capita and has, at the same time, been plagued by marine plastic pollution.

A goal to reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050 was shared at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in 2019. That target year was moved up to 2040 at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima last year.

This puts Japan in the position of taking a leadership role in global discussions on the matter.

Tokyo should make its presence felt by presenting proposals for agreement.

Japan’s position is that the respective circumstances of different nations need to be considered, which is why it is against imposing blanket regulations on plastics production.

Tokyo has called for comprehensive measures that would cover everything from the stage of manufacturing to disposal and recycling.

Plastics not only keep industries going but are also essential to our lives. But plastic waste is causing immense damage to the world’s oceans and marine life.

Reducing the amount of plastic waste released into the environment will be difficult unless bold steps are taken to slash production.

Disposable plastic containers are very convenient in a range of things. But the fact is, single-use plastics are a very real problem.

Plastics contain chemical additives that facilitate processing and prevent deterioration. Some are harmful to living organisms.

There are also concerns about the impact of microplastics, which measure 5 millimeters or less.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, citing figures for 2020, said production of plastics doubled over two decades to 435 million tons and is projected to increase further.

The damage that plastic causes to ecosystems and the impact it has on tourism, fisheries and other industries is being felt very closely.

If nothing is done, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans in terms of total weight in 2050, according to one simulation.

We all owe to ourselves to reduce plastic waste.

Even when a treaty is reached, it cannot be put into effect straight away.

During the next committee session, countries must strive for points of agreement and work toward the goal of designing an effective convention that will set a clear direction for allowing plastic pollution to be reduced.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 4

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