The upcoming United Nations negotiations on the first global treaty to curb plastic pollution have seen a significant influx of fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists, according to an analysis released on Thursday. Nearly 200 of these industry representatives plan to join the talks in Ottawa, Canada, a 37% jump from the previous gathering in November.
The heavy presence of industry lobbyists comes as the talks enter a crucial stage, with just one round of negotiations left to hammer out a final text that all countries agree on by the end of the year. The aim of the treaty is to create a legally binding framework that would cover the entire lifecycle of plastic, from production to disposal or reuse.
However, some fossil fuel and petrochemical industry groups, as well as countries that rely on those industries, are opposed to any UN treaty that would impose strict production caps or chemical or product phase-outs. This has raised concerns among civil society groups that the industry’s influence could undermine the negotiation process.
“The presence of actors in the room who are responsible for generating this crisis creates power imbalances that obstruct progress,” said Rachel Radvany, environmental health campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which conducted the analysis.
CIEL, a nonprofit law group, used registration data provided by the UN Environment Programme to count representatives of oil companies, chemical companies, and their trade groups as lobbyists, as well as non-profits or think-tanks that receive significant support from those industries.
The International Council of Chemical Associations, which represents the plastics, petrochemical, and chemical manufacturing industries, acknowledged the industry’s presence but argued that NGOs would be there in greater numbers.
However, the analysis found that registered fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists outnumber the combined 180 diplomatic representatives of European Union delegations and the 73 representatives brought by Pacific Small Island Developing States by more than two to one.
Some of these lobbyists are also attached to delegations from countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Iran, giving them “privileged access to Member State-only sessions, where sensitive discussions unfold behind closed doors,” according to CIEL’s global petrochemical campaign coordinator, Delphine Levi Alvares.
The heavy industry representation at the UN talks on plastic pollution mirrors similar concerns raised about the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists at last year’s COP28 climate change negotiations.