Contrary to what was reported in the media, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault does not believe that the global treaty to end plastic waste must necessarily include a cap on production.
“I am not against the idea of a ceiling, but I think that we are not there yet,” he specified in an interview with Duty THURSDAY.
Earlier this week, media reported that the minister wanted to see a cap on production in the future international treaty against plastic pollution. This question divides the States currently meeting in Ottawa to negotiate the terms.
A cap on plastic production is the main point of contention in the negotiating room: for many environmental organizations, the only way to solve the plastic crisis is to reduce the amount produced at the source, while other countries instead want to promote better recycling practices.
Minister Guilbeault claims that his remarks were misinterpreted when he spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the negotiations.
“I was asked if it was possible to have a discounted treaty for [être assurés] to have a treaty, and if it were possible to have a treaty without a ceiling. I replied no, we needed an ambitious treaty. Everyone concluded that I was saying that it took a ceiling,” he explains.
The fact remains that Canada “is not against” this avenue. “If it is the consensus of all the countries, we will rally together. But I think that this idea may seem simple in theory, but excessively complex in practice,” warns the minister.
A cap on plastic production would not distinguish between plastics that are harmful to the environment and health, and those that are less so. The jurisdiction of the provinces over the use of natural resources would also complicate the implementation of a cap at the Canadian level, he explains.
“I’m not sure we’re at that stage yet. There are many other things we can do between now and the end of the year to have an ambitious treaty,” argues the member for Laurier–Sainte-Marie.
Ottawa has already announced the launch of a federal plastics registry that will require producers of plastic products to declare the types and quantities of plastic entering the market.
This register will not make it possible to reduce plastic consumption, agrees Mr. Guilbeault, but he firmly believes that it will provide the information necessary to better combat pollution.
Compromises to move forward
Last November, negotiations reached an impasse in Nairobi, Kenya, where countries sharply disagreed over the terms of plastics production limits.
As time runs out to reach an agreement by the end of the year, several groups are hoping that delay and obstruction tactics by some states do not derail the current round of negotiations.
Even if divisive positions always represent a challenge, Steven Guilbeault says he is confident that the negotiations will go more smoothly this time. “In Nairobi, the Kenyans produced an initial negotiating text which, in the opinion of some, did not reflect the different positions that had been listed. It created a certain backlash.”
The draft text of the agreement then increased from 35 pages to more than 70 to represent all the delegations’ points of view. If several environmental organizations saw this as a significant step backwards, Minister Guilbeault believes that this will facilitate the ongoing negotiations in Ottawa – because being too “intransigent” from the start could have led to a hasty failure of the negotiations.
“The fact that the countries which were more refractory saw that their ideas had been put forward in the text, in the same way as the others, that now allows us to start pruning and negotiating, because that they are more ready to move forward.”
Minister Guilbeault hopes that approximately 70% of the text of the treaty will be finalized by the end of the negotiations in Ottawa, to then reach an agreement during the fifth and final round of negotiations, planned in South Korea. South in November.
“Recycling is not the solution”
While some countries are hoping for a treaty that would essentially focus on plastic management, the former environmental activist is categorical: the solution to the plastic crisis can only come through recycling. Officially, Ottawa is in favor of a text that will favor the circular economy.
“The plastics that we use, and that we will continue to use, must remain in the economy, and we must move towards a circular economy. We need solutions at all stages,” he insists.
Plastic packaging and single-use plastics account for more than 50% of all plastic waste produced in Canada, but less than 14% is recycled.
Russia, China and Saudi Arabia have been frequently criticized for slowing down negotiations in recent sessions. But several organizations also accuse the United States, the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, of not having been proactive in the talks.
“We are perhaps less aligned with our southern neighbors than we often are in other issues,” admits the minister. That being said, we have excellent relations with the American delegation. I’m in contact with people at the White House. I have no concerns about the position of the United States in these negotiations.”
Treaty negotiations in Ottawa began Tuesday and will last seven days.