India at INC-5 calls for balance between plastic pollution control and developing economies' growth

New Delhi [India], December 1 (ANI): Making an intervention at the Final Plenary of the 5th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), in Busan (Republic of Korea), India reiterated the enormity of the challenge of Plastic Pollution, that no nation alone can completely resolve, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a release on Sunday.
India thanked the Chair and Secretariat for all the efforts made to achieve a consensus based outcome at INC-5. "That is why", the statement read, "two years back, at UNEA 5, we all resolved to come together and work towards the international legally binding instrument."
Reminding that India is home to 1.4 billion people and 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 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 development of our societies and in varied sectors of economy."
India emphasized the need to strike a critical balance between preventing the leakage of plastic in the environment and, at the same time, not affecting sustainable development, particularly of, 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."
As some recommendations made by Member States were not reflected in the current version, India sought reassurance from the Chair, that Member States will get 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 further 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 clearly stated its inability to support any measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers, as it has larger implications in respect of the right to development of Member States. It was further highlighted to consider that 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 inclusion of any list with phase out dates, at this stage. This has not been reflected in the Chair's text, the statement informed.
Taking into account 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, provision of technical and financial assistance, including technology transfer to Developing countries, is the key for 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 time and place that may be decided in 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.
Concluding the statement, India requested the Chair to include this statement in the meeting report of INC-5. (ANI)