The G7 will commit to reducing the production of plastic in order to tackle head-on the global pollution caused by this material, according to a draft of the final communiqué of the Ministers of the Environment meeting in Italy, it was announced. learned Monday from a French source.
Plastic is present everywhere in the environment, from mountaintops to the bottom of the oceans, as well as in human blood.
“The G7 recognizes for the first time that the level of plastic pollution is unsustainable and that its increase is alarming,” said the French delegation in a note on the sidelines of this two-day summit in Turin.
Faced with this observation, “the G7 is committed to reducing the global production of primary polymers in order to put an end to plastic pollution in 2040”.
The Group of Seven industrialized countries, which includes Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, will establish “a series of concrete measures to achieve” this objective , still according to this note, without specifying which ones.
The final G7 communiqué must be released on Tuesday at the end of the ministerial meeting.
“Plastic pollution is a major issue that crosses the three major planetary crises: climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution,” said the French Minister of the Environment, Christophe Béchu.
“The spread of plastics in all environments is a relatively recent phenomenon on the scale of human history, but it already seems to be spiraling out of control,” he stressed.
This G7 comes as negotiations between 175 countries are underway in Canada with a view to an international treaty to reduce plastic pollution. These negotiations began on Tuesday and are due to end on Monday.
If the different parties agree on the need for a treaty, they differ on the merits. Some countries and environmental NGOs are calling for a sharp reduction in plastic production by 2040. But oil-producing countries and industry lobbies are pushing more in favor of recycling.
Meanwhile, plastic pollution continues to get worse. It could triple by 2060 if nothing is done. However, only 9% of plastics are recycled.