It's being touted as the most important environmental pact since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
A global explosion of disposable plastic, which is made from oil and gas, is increasing carbon emissions, despoiling the world's oceans, harming wildlife and contaminating the food chain. More than 50 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union, are calling for the pact to include measures targeting plastic production.
That's a problem for big oil and chemical companies. The industry is projected to double plastic output worldwide within two decades.
Publicly, plastic industry groups representing firms like ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N), Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Dow Inc (DOW.N), have expressed support for a global agreement to tackle this garbage.
Behind the scenes, however, these trade organizations are devising strategies to persuade conference participants to reject any deal that would limit plastic manufacturing, according to emails and company presentations seen by Reuters, as well as interviews with a dozen officials involved in the negotiations.
Leading that effort is the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a powerful
group of U.S.-based oil and chemical firms. The Washington-based ACC is
attempting to forge a coalition of big businesses to help steer treaty
discussions away from production restrictions, according to an Oct. 21
email sent from the trade group to a blind-copied list of recipients.
Reuters received a copy of that email from an employee of a consumer
goods company who requested anonymity.
The
ACC has dubbed the proposed alliance "Business for Plastic Pollution
Action," according to the email, which called on firms to "shift the
debate" by focusing governments' attention on the benefits of plastic.
The group planned to hold monthly meetings and share policy
recommendations with governments, according to the email.
The ACC did not respond to Reuters' questions about the email or the proposed business coalition.
Plastic
is embedded in modern life and indispensable to sectors such as
automaking. The plastics industry has been quick to cite such
applications in defending unfettered production.
But
it is throwaway plastics such as food wrappers, grocery bags and
delivery packaging that are the main focus of the U.N. conference.
Single-use plastic accounts for around 40% of all production, according
to a landmark 2017 study in the journal Science Advances.
The ACC has long defended disposable plastics as better for the planet
than alternatives such as glass and cardboard, which are heavier and
require more fossil fuel to transport. Some climate scientists say that
analysis is flawed because it doesn't take into account the massive
societal cost to managing plastic garbage, which is hard to recycle,
slow to degrade and expensive to collect, bury and burn.
