Representatives from many countries gather in Paris for talks, hoping to formulate policies to reduce plastic pollution
A United Nations committee meeting in Paris on Monday to work on a landmark treaty to end global plastic pollution has yet to agree on an outcome.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastics is tasked with developing the first legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, including the marine environment. It is the second of five meetings to conclude negotiations by the end of 2024.
At the first meeting in Uruguay six months ago, some countries called for a global mandate, some for national solutions and others for both.
With so little time to negotiate the treaty, experts say it will be crucial at the second session to make decisions about the treaty's goals and scope -- such as which plastics it will focus on. But that's easier said than done. More than 2,000 participants, including governments and observers, from nearly 200 countries attended the meeting at UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency in Paris.
