Busan: Intervening the final plenary of the 5th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, India today claimed some recommendations made by Member States were not reflected in the current version.
India stated, “Any instrument, including our own, has to have clearly defined scope. This has been left out from the new version. India would request to reinsert it.” The statement further conveyed that the scope of the instrument should be limited to addressing plastic pollution only without overlapping with the mandate of other multilateral environmental agreements and other relevant instruments and bodies.
India sought reassurance from the Chair that the Member States would be provided an opportunity to get their views reflected during further negotiations. India’s statement said, “Abiding by the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, we look forward to develop a package agreed to by all, in a fair, inclusive and transparent manner.”
India reiterated the enormity of the challenge of plastic pollution, which no nation alone can completely resolve, and expressed its inability to support any measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers. It contended that it has larger implications for the right to development of Member States. It also highlighted consideration for the inclusion of an article on Reservations on Annexures, as the shape and form of some articles can have trade implications. India also did not support the inclusion of any list with phase-out dates, at this stage. “This has not been reflected in the Chair’s text,” India claimed.
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Considering that the instrument has to be implemented by Member States, in a nationally driven manner, India’s statement demanded that due consideration to national circumstances and capabilities should be given. Further, the provision of technical and financial assistance, including technology transfer to Developing countries, is the key to effective implementation of the new instrument. Therefore, a stand-alone dedicated multilateral fund providing financial resources to developing countries for meeting incremental costs for their compliance obligations is required, India stated.
Reiterating its commitment to engage in the forthcoming negotiations at a time and place that may be decided in a positive and constructive spirit, India stated that the country has always been committed to the principle of consensus in decision-making in respect of substantive matters under multilateral environmental agreements. This principle reiterates collective decision-making and reflects shared responsibilities and commitment, and this position would remain unchanged in the forthcoming negotiations as well, the statement added.
India is home to 1.4 billion people, and the statement said the nation understands its responsibility in tackling the challenge of plastic pollution it said, “While we all are working to develop the instrument, India has already taken a series of measures including banning some of the short-lived plastic products and putting in place an ambitious and robust EPR regime on plastic packaging. We are moving towards sustainable plastic packaging, reducing the use of virgin material. At the same time, Chair, we cannot deny the important role plastic plays in the development of our societies and in varied sectors of the economy.”
India emphasized the need to strike a critical balance between preventing the leakage of plastic into the environment and, at the same time, not affecting sustainable development, particularly in, developing economies. The statement noted that this is a difficult ask which requires mutual trust and understanding of each other’s circumstances. In this context, India stated, “Our approach to finalise the draft instrument should be based on mutual trust, cooperation and the spirit of consensus.” India stressed that consensus must be the basis of all decisions, including Amendments in the instrument and its Annexures.
India thanked the Chair for bringing out the updated version of Chair’s non-paper, and said, “Though India has some observations on the paper, we will be happy to further engage on it.” India requested the Chair to include its statement in the meeting report of INC-5.
– global bihari bureau
