Plastic pollution is still a problem. A United Nations meeting in Geneva is hoping to change it

Tony Walker will be going to Geneva on Thursday.

Dalhousie University Professor will hold a meeting with the United Nations Inter -Government Dialogue Committee (INC), which is in its sixth round of negotiations on an international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. The session started from Tuesday and is scheduled to be held till 14 August, with 175 countries – including Canada – at the table of talks.

While Walker says that Canada has progressed in fighting plastic pollution, he believes that the country – and in the world can do a lot on a large scale. In terms of global dialogue, he says he is concerned about countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran, which blocks consensus.

“From next week, if we abolished all sources of plastic and plastic production in Canada, we are just one country,” he told CBC News.

“We have a small population relative to the rest of the world, and the way the global economy is now established, we are all business partners – we still need to purchase things from abroad.”

Walker says that Canada’s Inc. has debated the team that has been interacted with experts like and after every meeting.

The original committee was dead in December 2024 in Busan, South Korea. However, deep partitions between countries meant that they did not come to compromise.

“We are sure that no plastic pollution wants pollution. Still, we have not been able to find a systematic and an effective way to stop it,” Louis Vice Waldiviso told the Associated Press, Chairman of the Dialogue Committee.

Experts say that we need to work now

“Ever since the talks began three years ago, we have learned a lot about environmental effects and plastic health effects, especially microplastic,” Walker said.

He says that it is more important than ever that the world should be an agreement about plastic pollution.

“This is not just a beauty problem on our beaches and our streets, but it is in every organism that we have studied so far, including ourselves.”

He said that one of the major glued points in Busan was a group of petroleum-productive countries, with vested interests in the production of plastic. They believe that they do not want a cap on plastic production because they feel that it will hurt their economies.

“But this is very incredibly short -sighted when we know that we have a plastic pollution crisis, which is actually affecting the planetary health and human health,” he said.

Other experts and groups are also urging more action.

Greenpeace is calling for at least 75 percent reduction in plastic production by 2040.

Lancet count on health and plasticpublished in health policy On August 3, 2025 estimates that less than 10 percent of the plastic has been recycled at any time and that 8,000 plastic megatons now pollute the planet.

Coming for a consensus

One of the members of Canada is High ambition allianceA group of countries that aim to eliminate plastic pollution by 2040.

Walker states that Canada’s position has always been very strong on plastic pollution, and he was one of the first signators of the legally binding global agreement.

“On our west coast, we are a petroleum manufacturer,” says walker. “But still, our government negotiators consider human health and planetary health as more important.”

Crysta Seemain, the vice president of plastic at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, is on the ground as an observer in Geneva-as a required, as required, as an observer and answers to technical questions. She is to represent the industry, and is looking at the environmental groups, indigenous countries and science coalitions.

“There is a lot of energy …. all sides are actually committed to working towards finalizing the legally binding equipment to an internationally binding equipment to eliminate plastic pollution,” he said.

“It is really exciting that really be able to participate and hear in conversation and what is hoped that a historical event is going to happen.”

She says Ciac is making the champion of plastic circular, where plastic is reused, remake and given another life instead of renunciation.

“The agreement we are expecting as an industry as an industry will be one that focuses on ending plastic pollution, while allowing society to continue profit from plastic.”

He listened to the conversation about waste management, extended manufacturer responsibility and product design.

Her main concern is that she does not want to bring perfection in the way of progress. He said that there have been dispute over some points in the past, but that attention – at least on the first day – seems to find convergence and compromise points between countries.

“A treaty will ensure that everyone is implementing the same thing, that we are all moving forward in the same direction,” the semen said, which says that it is optimistic about all countries working towards an agreement.

“It’s going to be important if we not only want to achieve circular, but also to eliminate plastic pollution.”

Just more than waste management

A postdotoral Fellow Tim Rhoders, a postdotory at the University of British, says the current dialogues in Geneva are important as chemicals in plastic are measured and managed worldwide at the current gap.

He hopes that a global agreement will help in filling some intervals.

He says what is in products, such as tires, and more transparency around the entire life cycle of plastic-that only waste management.

“If you have something that is covering the end of life only for these compounds, I think it would be a real omission,” the roaders said.

“You have to think what is happening in the beginning to make good waste management.”