GENEVA, Aug 8 (Alliance News): As delegates from more than 170 nations prepare for crucial talks in Geneva, a leading marine litter expert is urging them to strike an ambitious global treaty to curb plastic pollution.
Professor Richard Thompson — who coined the term “microplastics” and was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people this year — called for “decisive action” to protect human health and the planet for future generations.
“It is really clear to protect future generations, we need to take decisive action now,” said Thompson, who is attending the talks as coordinator of the scientists’ coalition for an effective plastics treaty. “I hope negotiators can look the next generation in the eye and say they acted decisively.”
The push comes amid sharp divisions over whether the treaty should include legally binding caps on plastic production. More than 100 countries support such limits, but major fossil fuel producers — including Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China — want a focus on waste management and recycling instead. The United States has signalled support for a less restrictive deal.
A similar round of negotiations in Busan, South Korea, collapsed last November without agreement.
The urgency was underlined by a recent report warning the world is in a “plastics crisis” that causes disease, death, and at least $1.5 trillion in annual health-related damages.
Global plastic production has surged more than 200-fold since 1950 and is projected to nearly triple by 2060, driven largely by single-use packaging and containers.
Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled worldwide. Thompson, whose research spurred the UK’s ban on microbeads in cosmetics, insists production must be cut, chemicals reduced, and a circular economy of reuse adopted. “Business-as-usual is not sustainable,” he warned.
Greenpeace’s head of delegation Graham Forbes said uncontrolled plastic production was “a death sentence,” urging world leaders to “stand up to the fossil fuel industry” in Geneva and take the first step towards ending the crisis.
