While world leaders are negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty to end the age of plastic, the European Union is trying to push through a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) that will do exactly the opposite.
For years, experts and civil society have been warning of dangerous free trade agreements that could set back the fight to protect the environment and human rights. The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement is one such agreement that could be a nightmare for people and natural ecosystems.
What is less well known is that this agreement could also be a disaster for the fight against plastic pollution.
When the European Union wants to sell more plastic
Should we reduce the production and consumption of plastic? Even a newborn baby would know that the answer is yes. Is the European Union ignoring the growing number of scientific studies warning of the deleterious effects of plastic, which is poisoning our air, our food and our bodies?
This is what it appears to be doing when it campaigns in favour of a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries that will abolish customs duties on European exports of plastic waste and single-use plastics. The removal of these customs duties is likely to lead to an increase in trade in these products. This is what Greenpeace Germany discovered when it scrutinised the fine print of the agreement.
Out of sight, out of mind? The European Union’s double standards when it comes to plastics
Call on the NZ Government to ban unnecessary single-use plastic bottles* in NZ, and to incentivise reusable and refillable alternatives.