Brazil contributes little to global effort against plastic pollution
The Brazilian government’s ambition to lead the global debate on climate change has not shown consistency with the country’s stance in the negotiations for an international treaty on plastic pollution taking place within the United Nations. The economic weight of the domestic petrochemical industry and President Lula’s close relationship with recyclable waste pickers are the main factors behind Brazil’s resistance to defending a more stringent commitment to control the production of plastic material.The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) held its first meeting in 2022, in Uruguay, without Brazil’s participation—then under the Bolsonaro administration. At the time, the participant countries agreed on a schedule of five meetings, with an interval of six months, until a common statement was reached.The fourth meeting will take place next month, in Canada, but the progress made so far indicates that there will hardly be a consensus for the last meeting, slated for November, in South Korea.Plastic pollution is currently one of the biggest environmental challenges. A report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that 21 million tonnes of microplastics entered the environment in 2022 alone.The largest producer in Latin America and fifth in the world, Brazil dumps around 325,000 tonnes of plastic into the sea each year, according to Oceana, an international advocacy organization dedicated to ocean conservation.Considering only single-use plastics, such as packaging, disposable cups, stirrers, straws, and cigarette filters, among others, Brazil produces 3 million tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 500 billion items.The treaty’s central idea is for countries to make binding commitments to halt the advance of plastic pollution. According to Pedro Prata, a public policy executive at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the solutions under discussion include improving reuse standards, differentiated taxation for those who put more plastic in the market, improving waste management, and eliminating the so-called "unnecessary plastics"—a classification that divides opinions among the main players in the sector.Even more important, according to Mr. Prata, is to shift the mindset in developing products, which must be designed from the start so as not to generate pollution. "Plastic’s biggest differentiator is durability. One of humanity’s biggest mistakes, in my opinion, was to treat plastic as...
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