Canada didn’t push for plastic production cap in talks on global treaty

A man walks past plastic waste strewn along at Enggros village beach in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)

OTTAWA — Canadian officials negotiating a global treaty on plastic pollution at the United Nations say they didn’t push other countries to adopt a cap on plastic production.

The sixth round of talks wrapped up in Geneva today without consensus on a legally-binding international treaty.

The negotiations started in 2022 and Canada has been instrumental in bringing countries to the table, having hosted the fourth round of talks in 2024.

In a technical briefing today, Environment Canada officials said they know that many countries are opposed to a production cap — so Canada didn’t press the issue.

Reuters reported last week that the United States was circulating a memo to other countries urging them to reject any treaty which imposes limits on plastic production and plastic chemical additives.

Canadian officials said Friday that they saw no such memo.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press