Stagnant plastic negotiations... may be excluded from the 'production regulation' clause.

Amid difficulties in last-minute negotiations on the international agreement to end plastic pollution in Busan, which will end on the 1st of next month, the chairman of the negotiating committee unveiled his fourth unofficial document.

The new proposal, put forward by chairman Luis Bayas Valvidierso, who leads the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Proposition of the Plastic Agreement, presents two options for "supply and sustainable production" - primary plastic polymers.

One option is to "adopt as an annex to the Convention the Global Goals to reduce the production of primary plastic polymers to a sustainable level at the Conference of the Parties."

Another option is to exclude all provisions on production, which will be followed by debate and voting among member states, but also the possibility that production regulations will be excluded from the agreement.

The 5th negotiation committee, which started in Busan on the 25th, will end on the 1st of next month, but it is known that there is no content delivered to the agreement law drafting group as disagreements on the issue have not narrowed.

The majority of countries and NGOs seeking the agreement are expected to stage public opinion campaigns and pressure government delegations to formulate the agreement, including production regulations.