Plastic pollution strains international relations
The fight against polluters is an extremely tough one. At the conference in Busan, South Korea, talks for a global treaty on plastic pollution entered a critical phase, marked by strong opposition from oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran. The European Union, together with a coalition of Latin American, African and Pacific micro-states, denounced what it called 'continued obstruction' by these countries. The draft treaty includes: Restrictions on global plastic production, to limit its impact on the environment; A list of hazardous products, to be regulated or phased out.